Summer Day Disease
by BritishLuxray
Summary: Takes place within Super Danganronpa 2! Shook and exhausted from the events of the second trial, the remaining members of class 77 are unprepared for the new motive when certain members turn up acting..strange. New symptoms, new killer and new victims! Who will fall to despair this time? Cross-posted from A03 for your reading pleasure.
1. Chapter 1

Hinata was giggling. It was choked and shallow, sending shivers racing down Komaeda's spine. This… this wasn't right. This wasn't the Hinata he knew. The one he admired, the real Hinata, was the kind boy with the serious eyes. The one who took point in class trials with confidence and logic, and whose sudden and unexpectedly warm smiles never failed to make his heart to skip a beat. No, this wasn't his Hinata hanging off his arm, eyes glazed, and skin slicked with sweat. The Despair Disease, huh? A strange motive, but one that he had no doubts the Ultimates would overcome with ease. He hoped it would be soon. This Hinata was weird and made him uncomfortable.

It was really was bad luck he had to take care of him…

-48 hours earlier-

Hinata woke up with a start, the soft sunlight of dawn filtering through his drawn curtains.

 _Cold…It's so cold…_

Bolting upright, he scrabbled at the blanket and covers tossed off the end of the bed. In the summer heat, he'd discarded them almost immediately when he'd arrived, but now he reached for them, encasing himself tightly. Curled up in his cocoon, he shivered, his eyes drifting closed. Again he dozed off, spending almost an hour tossing and turning. After some time, he threw the acquired covers off violently, panting, sweat beading on his forehead.

 _Was it morning already? Had the announcement gone off? Maybe I ate something funky at the party last night._ Thoughts tumbled erratically through his mind as he crawled out of bed.

Looking to the sky outside, he noticed the sun had risen.

 _I'm going to be late,_ he thought, and stumbled his way to the shower. Now shivering, he turned the shower to hot and dreamily watched the steam rise and fog up the mirror. After stepping out and changing, he stumbled his way to the mirror, observing his reflection in the clearing bathroom. His eyes had dark bags and a pink flush stood out from pale and clammy skin. Even that one strand of hair that always refused to settle seemed to droop. Hinata brushed it down, only for it to pop up. He tried the opposite, brushing it upright; it didn't do much either, besides mussing up the hair around it. He looked like an idiot. Already stuck with naturally unruly hair, now he looked like he had an angry hedgehog on his head. Glaring at his reflection, Hinata realised something very important.

 _It was hilarious._

He began to laugh. He looked so stupid, and he couldn't stop imagining a hedgehog riding around on his head. What would other people look like with hedgehogs in their heads? he wondered. Would anyone put hedgehogs on their heads? Would Tanaka? Would he have hedgehogs here? Speaking of weird hair, he wondered if anyone had told Komaeda how his hair looks like clouds. Or maybe cotton candy? Oooh, did the Rocketmarket stock that? Maybe he should get some? Maybe Hiyoko would have some? She liked sweet stuff!

Caught in his daze like state of whirling thoughts, he stepped back from the mirror, bad hair day forgotten, and stumbled his way outside. Looking around, he realised there was no one in sight. Disappointment weighing on his stomach, he felt it rumble, and he frowned.

"Hungry…" he mumbled, turning and making his way to the restaurant. The stairs felt like they took and eternity to climb, and the handrail felt slippery to grip. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, a rational portion of Hinata remained, telling him that something was very wrong, that his thoughts weren't right, he wasn't right. He ignored it, pushing open the door and blinking around the room. The clock on the wall said the time was 6:15am, but there was a surprising amount of people in the restaurant. Hinata spotted Mikan fussing over what looked like a depressed Nekomaru. Komaeda sat in his usual corner. Akane stood up against the wall, a worried look plastered across her face as she watched the nurse. Souda sat with a plate of scrambled eggs on the opposite side of the room, and Gundham sat nearby eating some sort of fried vegetable.

Who did he want to talk to? Not Komaeda, he was still angry at him for the last couple of trials. Komaeda was nothing but a two-faced bully, not doubt about it! Nekomaru and Mikan caught his eye, and his curiosity drove him, edging forward, step by step.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully.

"Eeeeehhyyyaaaaaa!" Mikan screamed, whirling in surprise. "H-Hinata ! I d-didn't see you there! I'm so-sorry for screaming. You shouldn't have to listen to something like that so early in the morning. I'm sorry for being so useless!" she cried.

"Wow! You're really loud Mikan!" Hinata laughed. "You shouldn't cry so much though, I'm not angry at all!"

"S-so, you forgive me?" she sniffled.

"Of course!" Hinata grinned, a small chuckle making its way up his throat. "Hey, so what's happening? Why're so many people here? I came here because I was outside looking for Hiyoko, because I thought she might have some cotton candy, but I didn't see her, and then I was hungry, but then I had to climb all the stairs, and now I'm tired so I'm thinking I might take a nap. What do you think, Mikan?"

"I, uh, what?" she asked, clearly confused. But Hinata was already staring at Nekomaru, frowning.

"Oi, Nekomaru, what's wrong with you? You look all depressed and stuff. Ooooooo, wait, no way, did Akane actually beat you?" he chattered away.

"Wrong…" Nekomaru whispered. Even Hinata paused at that; Nekomaru _whispered._ But then he brushed it off.

"Speak louder," Hinata complained.

"H-Hinata-," Mikan looked shocked.

"Useless. Everything is useless. I'm useless. You're useless. Life is pointless," the coach rumbled. He placed his head in his hands. "There's no point in anything. Why even try to be the best? Someone will eventually come along and break every record you've ever set. If you're even able to set any, that is."

"So that's what you're sad about?" Hinata asked.

"Indeed," Nekomaru confirmed.

Hinata frowned for a few seconds, eyes closed and finger tapping against his face pensively. Suddenly, he looked up, a twinkle as he came to a conclusion.

"You should have some kusomochi!" he said. "Eating it always makes me feel better!" He grinned broadly.

From the side, Mikan observed as Hinata giggled and gestured wildly, talking about the delights of kusomochi, a blush settled on his cheeks. Or maybe not blushing, the nurse realised. She'd been so caught up with checking Nekomaru and dealing with Hinata 's arrival, she hadn't thought that other people might have this same mysterious sickness that was making the coach so depressed.

"Hinata," she ordered, suddenly sounding serious. "Let me feel your forehead."

"Huh?" he sounded unsure, his eyes blinking lazily, but eventually shrugged, standing still. Mikan quickly darted forward and stood on her toes, testing his temperature through touch. She all but gasped at the heat of the fever, and getting closer, she could also see the strange glazed look that Nekomaru had been brought in with. Suddenly, she found herself in the air as Hinata grabbed her by the waist and lifted her upwards.

"Whoopee!" he laughed.

"H-Hinata, please p-put me down!" she shrieked, her voice a strange and conflicting mix of both timid and authoritative. Hinata just laughed again, before gently lowering her to the ground.

"What the fuck was that?" Souda shouted. Hinata's head rang with the sound, but all it did was make him laugh. He began to notice how much everything hurt. It… it hurt so much, but all he could do was giggle. Because it was funny…wasn't…it…?

"It would seem Hinata is also ill," Mikan fretted. "This is not good, we need to get both of them to a hospital, r-right away!"

"Hinata is sick?" inquired Komaeda, only to be yelled over by Souda.

"You don't think they're contagious, do ya?"

"I don't know," Mikan admitted. "I just know that they're both behaving abnormally, have a high fever, and seem to exhibit dull and glazed eyes."

"Should we wait for the others to arrive?" Komaeda wondered. "I mean, we don't know how long they'll take getting here, but if we leave, we might miss someone else with the disease."

"I agree with the pale one!" Gundham cut into the conversation. "I believe it to be best if we retrieve our comrades ourselves in a timely manner. We will likely have an easier time trapping and vanquishing this curse if we contain the infected." He declared darkly.

"All right then, I guess its settled. Mikan, Akane, can you stay here and look after Hinata and Nekomaru? There's only five people to find, so the three of us shouldn't take long." Komaeda suggested quietly.

"T-That's fine. Please h-hurry though, I want to get these two to the h-hospital on the third island," worried the nurse.

"Oi, why are we listening to the psycho over there! You can't trust him!" Souda accused, pointing. He looked ruffled, his eyes narrowing. All eyes turned to the sickly boy, memories of the betrayal and his ravings darkening gazes.

"I don't suppose you have a better idea?" the other boy drawled in reply. Silence fell in the restaurants as the two had a silent battle of wills, Souda's face twisted in frustration and distrust as Komaeda staring silently.

"Fine!" Souda finally yelled. "I get dibs on grabbing Miss Sonia though, ya hear?!"

"Perfectly," Komaeda smiled.

The three boys shuffled out of the restaurant, in search of the other five. Akane watched as Mikan darted back and forth between the two boys. Neither of them looked well; Nekomaru sat with his head in his hands, body trembling as he squeezed himself into a ball. Hinata gazed out the window, bouncing on the balls of his feet, singing some sort of tune to himself.

"Akane! C-could you maybe keep lookout for the others, please? Oh! But before that, p-please fetch me some damp cloths? I need to bring down their fever, before it gets any worse. T-there might be some in the kitchen." The gymnast blinked back to reality at the nurse's request.

"I'm on it!" She yelled, pumping her fist. Ignoring the short distance, she sprinted across the restaurant, leaping over any tables in her way. Stopping, she slid through the double doors of the kitchen, and gave the room a once over. Quickly spotting the hand towels hung over the oven handle, she grabbed them, before running them under the tap. Walking away, she found water dripping from the now-soaking cloths, and she hesitated.

"Damp…?" she muttered. Damp meant…wet, but not really wet, right? So, she needed to get rid of some of the water! Quickly turning back and wringing the towels, she could hear the door of the restaurant opening. Akane sprung out through the kitchen doors, spotting a small, blonde head, one attached to a black pinstripe suit.

"Yo, baby gangsta, what's up? Out of the hospital already?" she grinned as he entered the restaurant, tossing the towels across the room. The nurse shrieked is surprise as it slapped her in the face.

"I…you…what did you…I will fucking kill you!" he roared as the nurse blubbered in the background.

"P-Please be quiet!" Mikan screamed loudly, tears forming in her eyes as she applied the towels.

"You're even louder than I am…" he grumbled, folding his arms. "I got bored in the hospital, and I feel fine. What's going on?" he asked, noticing the nurse's flushed expression and Nekomaru's hunched form.

"I-It's some sort of sickness," Mikan answered timidly.

"Sickness?" Kuzuryuu looked surprised.

"Mm-hm. So far Hinata and old man Nekomaru are the only ones. Souda, Gundham and that weirdo Komaeda have gone out the fetch everyone." Akane mused.

"What's wrong with them?" he asked, approaching.

"S-so far, it's characterised by a fever, sweating a-and glazed eyes, as well as u-unusual behaviour." Mikan explained.

"What exactly constitutes 'unusual behaviour'?"

Just then, Hinata seemed to register the small yakuza's presence, and turned towards him with a smile. Kuzuryuu nearly jumped back in shock. From a distance, the boy had looked fine, but closer, it could clearly be seen how he was in bad shape. Before he could react, he found himself wrapped in a big bear hug, and he froze with shock.

"Let go of me!" he screamed, squirming. Hinata may be sick, but his grip was unyielding, and Kuzuryuu found that the boy had a deceiving amount of muscle. Eventually, the giggling male released the blonde, who staggered back in shock.

"Kuzuryuu is back!" Hinata cried happily. He turned to Mikan. "Hey, do you see, its Kuzuryuu! Kuzuryuu is back! It's Kuzuryuu, Kuzuryuu, Kuzuryuu!" he rambled.

"What the fuck…" he whispered, horrified. Hinata wasn't exactly what he could call a chatterbox under normal circumstances. Perhaps it was because it was hard to get a word in with all the weirdoes in the group, but outside of calming his friends or panicking himself, Hinata always seemed to more of a listener, offering only the occasional remark or advice.

The word to describe Hinata? Serious. Sometimes too serious, like when they'd first arrived on the island (ignoring the fact that he'd be right.) He definitely smiled occasionally, if not as often as everybody else, but this strange grin was too much. What was this extreme turnabout?

Now Hinata was singing, or at least he thought so. He didn't have the best singing voice. Was that… 'pop goes the weasel'?

"SHUT UPPPPPP!" Nekomaru suddenly yelled, causing everyone inside to jump. It was the first time he'd said anything outside of a whisper since he first entered the restaurant that morning, sick. Suddenly, he whirled around to face them, his face a mask of anger.

"YOU!" Nekomaru yelled, pointing at Hinata. "Your singing sucks! You could work at it for a hundred years and it wouldn't yet any better!"

"YOU!" he turned to Mikan. "You're nothing but a wimp and a cry-baby! Satan himself could drag you to hell and you'd apologise! I'd say toughen up, but I'd have better luck encouraging a MARSHMALLOW!"

Mikan promptly burst into tears, full of whimpers and apologies.

"AND YOU!" he turned to the door, where Akane leaned inside, watching aghast. "You're the worst of the lot! You're undisciplined, unfocused, and have so little upper body strength that you couldn't even take down a TODDLER in a fist fight! I don't know why I ever bothered training with you! You're sluggish, weak and completely uninteresting! I never want to see your face on this island again, YOU, HEAR ME?!" he roared the last part, having risen from his chair and approached the gymnast, sweat dripping down his forehead as his eyes swirled messily.

Akane looked positively shocked, pressed against the doorframe with her mouth hanging open. Mikan wept as she begged him to sit down, and Hinata sniffled in a corner.

"Oi!" Kuzuryuu yelled. "Everyone, calm the fuck down! You!" he pointed at Akane. "Concentrate on keeping lookout at the entrance. You!" he turned to Mikan. "Are there any first aid kits supplied here or something? Anything?"

"T-there might be something in the kitchen!" she yelped.

"Go check and take a breather," he told her. Ignoring Hinata, he turned to the behemoth of a coach. "And you, fucking SIT DOWN and calm yourself!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" he roared in response.

"Why the fuck would you even say those things? Is there any point in attacking them like that? They just want to help you, dumbass!" Kuzuryuu growled. Electricity seemed to spark between the two as a battle of wills fought out silently. Finally, the coach broke.

"NO POINT!? No point!? No point, no point, no point…?" the coach calmed down alarmingly quickly, growling quietly, before landing heavily in a chair and curling up.

"Huh? Well that was easier than expected…"

"Is something wrong? I am sure that I heard yelling!" Kuzuryuu turned to the door blinking as sunlight reflected off beautiful golden hair as the beautiful princess leaned in the doorway. To her left stood the mysterious breeder.

"Is someone throwing a tantrum? You guys really are nothing but a bunch of babies. Hey, where's the pig barf? The weirdo here said she was supposed to be here." Another high-pitched voice joined the two, though the individual themselves couldn't be seen.

"Oi! Akane! Lookout means you tell us when people arrive! Well, it looks like you three are okay. That's a relief, I guess…" the yakuza sighed.

"H-hey, is big bro Hinata…crying?!" Hiyoko seemed shocked.

"Yeah, he's sick, and Nekomaru said some mean things about his singing…" Kuzuryuu muttered in response.

"I'm sorry Kuzuryuu, but I am afraid that does not provide a sufficient explanation. There was singing?" Sonia tilted her head in confusion.

"I-It doesn't matter, okay?" Now we just have'ta wait for Mioda, Souda, Komaeda and Chiaki, right?"

"Y-Yes!" Mikan appeared from the kitchen. "I have found the f-first aid kit! The only useful thing here w-was some painkillers, though…"

"Well, uh, just do your best, alright?" Kuzuryuu grumbled awkwardly.

"I-I will!" she exclaimed.

More voices came from outside.

"Oi!" Akane called. "Souda and Mioda are here!"

"Miss Sonia! I was wondering where you were! You weren't in your cabin!" Souda's eyes lit up at the sight of the princess, and he dashed inside, ignoring everything and everyone else.

"Alright, everyone, it's time to get the party started because Mioda is here! Yeeha!" Mioda screamed, jumping in the air.

"P-PLEASE BE QUIET!" Mikan screamed again.

The ten students chattered and mingled as they waited for the last two to arrive. Mikan and Akane offered explanations, including how Nekomaru hadn't turned up for his morning sparring session, and how Akane had to tempt him out of his cabin with the promise of food and painkillers for his headache.

"I mean, I dunno how effective the food offer was, but he definitely said he had a killer headache, so I used that to get him to the restaurant."

"Why the restaurant? Why not the pharmacy or something?"

"Cause I was hungry, duh!"

"Mioda likes the way you think!"

"Hinata, are you okay? Would you like something to eat? How about a glass of orange juice? You seem to enjoy that most mornings." Sonia offered kindly.

"Yes…please…" Hinata sniffled.

Another ten minutes passed before heavy steps could be heard coming up the stairs, along with the sound of screaming.

"What is that?" Sonia gasped.

"Someone's being murdered!" Souda screamed. Kuzuryuu swore at him, before kicking him in the leg.

The door opened to Komaeda, looking red and out of breath. Slung over one shoulder was… Chiaki?

"Let me go!" she screamed. "I will fucking wreck you, you scrub!"

"Could some," *pant* "one," *pant* "help me?" Komaeda puffed, as Chiaki's fists bounced off his back.

"What the fuck are you doing! You can't hold a woman like that!" Kuzuryuu yelled.

"Oohoo, fanservice time!" Mioda screamed.

Komaeda set the lavender haired gamer girl to the ground, where she immediately sunk to the floor, legs crossed and face red in anger.

"Do you _know_ who I am? Who the _fuck_ do you think you are? I've beaten more games than your age and IQ combined! You dare touch me? I will _fuck your shit up_!" she ranted, as the restaurant watched in silence.

"So, I guess that makes three sick, huh?" Komaeda the first to comment.

"Finally, everyone's here!" an obnoxiously squeaky voice filled the small space, and a black and white plush bear popped out of the floor. "Now, I can finally introduce the new motive!"

The appearance was met with short screams of surprise.

"Motive?" Mikan whispered.

"Yep! I suppose I forgot to tell you, but these islands are covered in thousands of tiny, microscopic bugs! And these bugs carry a special disease, only found here, on Jabberwock Island. The Despair Disease!"

"The…Despair Disease?" Komaeda whispered, going still.

"That's what I just said dumbass, are you slow or something?! Anyway, there are different strains of the Despair Disease. For example, Chiaki there has the 'Rage' Disease!"

"What do you mean by 'Rage'?" Sonia ventured.

"Oh, you know, tantrums, screaming, anger, pretty much everything you just saw. Then of course, Nekomaru has the 'Giving Up' Disease!"

"'Giving Up'? Isn't that what despair is anyway?" scoffed Kuzuryuu.

"Pu-lease! Figures only an idiot like you would think despair is something as simple and stupid as that! Anyway, and of course, Mr Serious over here has what I like to call the 'Childish' Disease! And before you ask, if you don't understand what childish means, you will soon enough. Good luck. Oh, right I almost forgot! The disease is extreeee-emely infectious and is sometimes airborne! Have fun with that… Upupupupu…" And with that, he disappeared.

"Motherfucker…"

"What shall we do now?"

"Evil fiend…"

"We need t-to take them to the hospital. They need rest, until I can figure out h-how to help more…" Mikan declared with surprising resolution.

"Oh look, pig shit thinks she can take charge now!" Hiyoko taunted, pulling on the nurse's hair.

"I'm sorrrrrrryyyyyyy!" she wailed.

"Hiyoko!" Souda snapped.

"What? Oh fine, whatever. I suppose that's…an okay idea. But more than that we need to get them someone far away from everyone else!"

"What do'ya mean?" Akane demanded.

"I believe Hiyoko means that, since the infected are infectious, they should be kept away from the rest of us so that the disease does not spread." Sonia explained calmly.

"Like, a quarantine, you mean?" Komaeda inquired.

"Exactly!" Hiyoko declared.

"I agree with Miss Sonia," Souda added, pulling beanie down over his eyes.

"Hmm, Mioda doesn't like the idea of doing something so mean to her friends…" the musician said slowly, looking unsure.

"Yeah! And what about old man Nekomaru! I can't just leave him all alone!" Akane argued.

"We wouldn't be leaving them alone, dumbass. Obviously, we'd have to have people stationed at the hospital to look after 'em. Man, why couldn't we have gotten some quieter diseases?" Kuzuryuu muttered to himself.

"Ah, fine. Then I'll go with and keep watch over old man Nekomaru!" she yelled.

"Hmm," hummed Komaeda. "Akane, can I ask you something? When you brought Nekomaru in this morning, did you touch him at all? Did you spend long with him?"

"Huh?" Akane looked sceptical. "Not really…I spent most of the time arguing through a door, and even then he really didn't seem to want me near him. It was hard enough convincing him to come here."

"I see. Then, I suppose you'd say that you'd had minimal contact with him, correct?" he questioned further.

"Y-Yeah! So?" Akane looked restless, a scowl forming on her face as she danced from foot to foot.

"Well, I just don't think you coming to the hospital with us is a great idea, is all."

"What! Why'd say that!" she roared.

"Simply put, the whole point of a quarantine is to minimise the number of infected people, correct? The hospital only has three patient rooms, one for each of the sick, plus an on-call and conference room if I recall correctly. Bringing too many people in might cause a crowding issue, and make everything worse. Not to mention, there are people here at higher risk than you are, so it makes sense to make them the carers, right?"

"Bastard's got a point," Kuzuryuu sighed. "But what do you mean, 'higher risk', exactly?"

"I'm talking about everyone who spent an extended amount of time close to, or in contact with the infected. I think Akane's probably fine, because, although she was in the restaurant, she spent a lot of time as a lookout, and never even touched Nekomaru. Therefore, I think you and Mikan, Kuzuryuu, can be safely said to be 'high risk', since you both touched the infected directly, and remained in close proximity."

"Eww, you touched them? Gross!" Hiyoko giggled.

"S-Shut up! Oi, Komaeda, you carried Chiaki here. That's direct contact, right? Aren't you high risk too?"

"W-well that's-, I mean, I suppose. And I don't have the best immune system, so I guess so. Unlucky me. I really should've been more careful." Komaeda looked sheepish.

The group continued to bicker for several minutes, before the agreement was made. Komaeda, Mikan and Kuzuryuu would look after the sick, and everyone else would stay at the motel near the hospital. Souda promised to rig up a two-way communication device using parts in Electric Avenue. Eventually, everyone filtered out, just leaving those on hospital duty and the sick. Stepping back, they tried to figure out how to get everyone to the hospital.

"You know," grumbled the short blonde. "Maybe bringing Akane along might've been a good idea after all. What the hell are we gonna do if Nekomaru doesn't move?"

"I-I'm sorry, but there isn't really a lot of room at the h-hospital!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Hey, Komaeda, you mind taking Hinata? You two seemed pretty close a while back."

Komaeda looked uncomfortable, which was unusual to say the least. Often he would hide behind his fake smile and bittersweet flattery, never dropping the façade unless necessary.

"A-Are you sure you don't want me to take Chiaki? She's pretty verbally abusive, I'm not sure how Mikan's self-esteem's going to handle…"

Kuzuryuu snorted. "Let's see how Godzilla is gonna act first, okay? Oi! Old man! You gonna be a pain in the ass, or cooperate so we can get you some more painkillers?"

"There is no point in resisting," Nekomaru whispered, pulling himself to his feet. He swayed for several seconds, before straightening, blinking groggily.

"That's good. Hey, Mikan, you take the old man, he's pretty quiet. I'll grab Chiaki."

"H-Hey wait, you sure you don't want to take Hinata?"

"Christ, Komaeda, what are afraid of?"

"I just don't think Hinata would want someone like me touching him. But if you're absolutely sure…"

"That's what it is? He'll be fine! For fuck's sake, he's the only one that even bothers to check if you're still alive. And yeah, I'm sure. That guy's already hugged me once, I'm not letting him do it again."

"Is it because you're short?" Hinata giggled cheekily.

"WHAT? FUCK, NO, shit," Kuzuryuu swore, denial colouring his every word. "I mean, y-yeah, it makes him leaning on me a little awkward, BUT ONLY BECAUSE HE'S TALLER. BEING SMALLER THAN SOMEONE DOESN'T MAKE YOU SHORT."

"C-Can we please go?" Mikan whimpered.

"Yes, Let's go. Now." His response was short and harsh.

The six made their way out of the hotel, a strange sight. Nekomaru was led by the hand by Mikan, who hummed softly despite the dire situation. Chiaki was being half carried-half dragged along by Kuzuryuu, both looking red enough to burst a blood vessel. And finally, Hinata was dragging Komaeda along, who was desperately trying to hold on to the boy's shirt sleeve as he darted and ran about, investigating and poking at every plant and insect in their path. Eventually the six made it to the hospital, where they set up the patient rooms. Mikan busied herself collecting and setting up equipment while the two boys settled down in the chairs in the lobby, exhausted. Twenty minutes later, the nurse appeared, looking worn out herself.

"How is everyone?" Komaeda asked pleasantly.

"E-Everyone is resting in their rooms. I g-gave everyone a strong p-painkiller and sedative, so they should stay unconscious for a few hours. "

"Thank fucking god." Kuzuryuu groaned. "Why did they have to be so god damn difficult? Couldn't we have, I dunno, gotten someone easier, like 'Do whatever you tell me to', or 'Unconscious the whole time' disease?"

"I don't think those are real things, Kuzuryuu."

"You know what I mean, Komaeda. Instead, we have Chiaki swearing and screaming her head off, and Hinata running around like the fucking energizer bunny. Not to mention, even if Chiaki doesn't say much, those two are like our main point getters in the class trials! If they're still sick during an investigation; hell, if someone KILLS one of them while they're like this…"

Kuzuryuu goes quiet for a moment.

"I'm going to check on them."

Komaeda was suddenly alone in the lobby with his thoughts, and a very sore arm. He sat back and mused on the current situation. Things were dire, sure. But he was sure everything would be fine! After all, such symbols of Hope such as the Ultimates would be able to overcome such a simple obstacle, even if it ended in someone's death. In fact, perhaps it could even bolster the radiance that would be produced? He could attempt another murder…although he'd much rather be killed himself. He wasn't sure he'd be able to reasonably get away with it though; not with Kuzuryuu watching. It wasn't that he actually _wanted_ to get away with it; it's just that he didn't believe the Ultimates deserved such half ass work.

Kuzuryuu though…He'd certainly changed since Peko's death just a few days ago. Before, he wouldn't've given half a rat's ass if someone was killed, let alone sick. Considering how Hinata and Chiaki were also to blame for seeing through Mahiru's murder, he was surprised to find the yakuza didn't blame them more. Perhaps Hinata had spoken to him while he was recovering? That seemed more than likely. He seemed to have a positive effect on people, even Komaeda himself. He supposed it was a combination of persistence, good listening and honest opinions. Mostly honest, anyway. Komaeda still didn't believe that Hinata wouldn't hate someone like him. The sick trio in general were hard to hate, though Komaeda wasn't sure it would stop a murderer. After all, killing someone and getting away with it is the same as killing everyone, so logically, the initial victim shouldn't matter at all.

He would sit back and wait this one out, he decided. While it wouldn't be impossible to sneak away, he didn't have nearly enough preparation time to make an interesting case.

Eventually, both the nurse and the gangster returned, and the three made a schedule for the coming night. They couldn't sleep in the hospital, so they would sleep in the cabins back at the hotel. Komaeda headed off first, leaving the other two behind.

A knock on the hospital door came an hour later, and opening it revealed a camera and a monitor. Hooking it up, the screen blinked on to reveal a certain shark-tooth mechanic.

"Testing, testing, testing. Heya, how's it all going?" he grinned toothily.

"Fine so far. Mikan put Hinata out with a sedative she picked up from the pharmacy earlier. It's kind of hard to tend to him if he's constantly wandering about and playing with things." Kuzuryuu sighed.

"That bad, huh? Anyway, so I was thinking we could make a check in schedule?"

The two eventually agreed upon a schedule where the quarantined would check in after and before the morning and night-time announcements.

While Komaeda slept peacefully in anticipation of a night shift, Mikan fussed and Kuzuryuu stood guard, fate began to wave its cruel strings around them all.


	2. Chapter 2

Komaeda arrived back at the hospital several hours later to an impatient and red-faced yakuza standing at the door. He was wearing his usual pin stripe suit, which rustled quietly as he paced back and forth in the lobby.

"Thank god you're here," he grumbled, relief settling on his face as he spotted him coming through the doorway.

"Ah, is something wrong, Kuzuryuu?" Komaeda inquired politely.

"Nah, not really, I guess," he scratched his head. "We just wanted you to grab some stuff from the Rocketpunch market, since we need two people here at all times. I know you just came from there, but it'd really help us out." The gangster attempted to look gruff throughout the exchange, but he couldn't quite meet Komaeda's eyes. He had been doing that a lot lately, the luckster mused. Ever since he came back from the hospital, he had been friendlier, and had a bad habit of averting his eyes while talking. Not that he should bother when speaking to such a worthless pile of trash such as himself, but he supposed that just emphasised just how bad the guilt was. He'd even calmed down with the swearing.

"Oi, are you even fucking listening?"

Well, maybe only a little.

"Ah, of course. Anything for an Ultimate such as yourself. What would you like me to fetch?"

"I, but! ...you, just; fuck, forget it. We're gonna need to grab some food for the sick people while they're here. We're sure as hell not shuttling them around, so it's best to have some on hand. We could take some from the restaurant, but it'll be hard to grab, and impossible to stockpile, not to mention it'd probably get cold and stuff once it's here. So, like, grab a bunch of muesli bars and shit, whatever's nutritious and easy to store. Hopefully they won't stay like this for long. And ah, maybe grab some energy drinks for us, and maybe a stress ball for Chiaki and something to distract Hinata when he wakes up. Toys maybe. You got all that?"

"Sure, that should be fine. But are the toys really necessary?"

"I don't fucking know! He's got the childish disease, right? Maybe that just means treat him like a child. Get it anyway, it's not like we have to pay for anything."

"Alright!" Komaeda chirped happily. "I'll be back soon!" And off he walked, back towards the first island. He hummed as he sauntered towards the market, though his thoughts churned uneasily. He'd already disregarded the idea of a murder, but Chiaki's and Hinata's glazed eyes kept popping back into his head. They were both incredibly talented, and observant to boot, and he had overwhelming respect towards them both. Is that why he couldn't shake the sick and uneasy feeling he got when he thought of them in that state? Obviously, he admired all the symbols of hope, and wished them to grow, conquering any Despair that comes their way. Sure, he's not happy that they're in Despair, but surely that means they'll shine even brighter once they're cured!

And yet, he can't help but feel the gap in intensity he felt for those two compared to the lack of emotion with which he considered Nekomaru. Surely, he wasn't becoming attached? He couldn't! He was undeserving of their presence, after all, and getting too close…getting too close…would be bad..… getting ...too close…too…bad…

Komaeda snapped back to reality when he found himself in front of the market. He shrugged off the shiver that worked its way up his spine with a smile, before stepping inside. Glancing around the market, he headed towards the muesli bars, as directed. He grabbed three boxes per person, so about eighteen. Each box contained about six bars, he hoped it was enough. Wandering, he found several trolleys hidden around a corner, and smiled at his luck. Grabbing one, he loaded it up with the muesli bars, several types of biscuits, crackers and cheese, apples and some sort of weird fruit bar. He also grabbed the requested energy drink, and some mineral water for himself. He finally made his way to the other side of the market, where the not-so-edible items were held (though he wouldn't want to say that out loud around Mioda, he wouldn't put it past her to take it as a challenge.)

The boy continued humming his baseless tune as he browsed the shelves. Tennis balls, bouncy balls, ah! Stress balls! Komaeda grabbed one, and then, on second thought, grabbed five more. He wouldn't want to underestimate the rage disease, after all. He also got her a couple of puzzles, hoping to keep her distracted. For Hinata…hmmm…

Possibilities lined the white steel shelves. Building bricks, board games, even an airsoft gun! Komaeda picked it up, examining it. Loading a (thankfully) foam bullet, he pumped it for half a minute, amused when the pressure continued to escalate beyond typical conditions. Normally, such a gun would have broken under pressure by now. Finally reaching the point where it could compress no more, he placed one of the board games on the floor and aimed. Pulling the trigger resulted in a loud wheeze, and the bullet shot out almost faster than he could blink. The board game toppled; no, toppled is wrong. It was thrown backwards, the bottom edge more than a foot away from its initial position. The bullet was bent in half, lying several feet away, unusable. Huh. The gun must be modified. How else could a kid's toy have packed such a punch? The pressure still wasn't anywhere near enough to kill anyone though. Especially since all it would take were these little plastic bullets.

Deciding that the gun was more of an outside toy, Komaeda left it in favour of the building blocks and a bouncy ball, and began to make his way back to the hospital.

By the time he got back, the sleeping patients began to wake up. First was Chiaki, with her slurred threats. "I'll…kill you…and your punk…ass…just wait."

Then came Nekomaru, who simply opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, unblinking until Mikan began to pester him about the dangers of dry eyes. He probably just closed them again to make her go away, Komaeda mused.

And finally, Hinata. He was actually kind of adorable, waking up (He was NOT adorable, he really wasn't allowed to think that). He sat up, blearily gazing around the room as the hospital gown fell off one shoulder. His hair was even spikier than usual, at least on one side. The other was as flat as a board, ironed down from sleep. And then the chattering began.

"Evening Hinata," Mikan greeted, walking in with a stethoscope and a tray of muesli, biscuits and water.

"Evening!" Hinata replied cheerfully. Within seconds the grogginess was gone, and peeking from the doorway, the cotton candy haired student felt another chill run down his spine. Hinata should NOT be smiling like that. Should not be chattering like that. Should not be sweating and coughing and flushing and

He tried to move from the doorway without being noticed, only to have his plans foiled by none other than the Ultimate Nurse.

"Ah! Komaeda! C-Could you please help Hinata with his breakfast? I need to go c-clean up in Chiaki's room. L-Last time I tried to give her food she threw it at me, so Kuzuryuu was helping her…But he should be done now, and h-hospitals should be a clean environment!"

"A-Ah you sure? Surely somebody like me isn't fit to help anyone, let alone an Ultimate…"

"Oh no! It's perfectly all right! All you have to do is watch him, and m-make sure he doesn't run away! T-Thank you Komaeda!" And with that, she was gone.

Komaeda turned to find Hinata pouting and not looking him in the eye. He was being very obvious about not wanting to be in the same room as the lucky student. While he was glaring, however, he certainly wasn't eating, something Komaeda wanted to change.

"I can understand not wanting to be in the same room as someone like me, Hinata. But you should at least eat something. I'm afraid Mikan want be happy if you don't."

"Hmppf." The boy huffed.

"If you don't, I'll be forced to feed you, Hinata. You wouldn't want to me to do that, would you?"

Eyes swung in his direction, a pale and wavering gaze glaring at him. He thought back to when those same two eyes had glared at him much the same way back when he was tied up in the lodge and he had asked the boy to feed him. Except now, he was using that same suggestion as a threat. The two matched eyes for a minute, before the second boy dropped his stare, and slowly, he began to eat. Komaeda hummed and observed the window for several minutes, avoiding looking at the sick student for too long. Tick, tick, tick. He could almost hear the sound in his head, resonating.

"I don't like you." Hinata suddenly stated firmly, jolting Komaeda out of his daydream. He met the angry gaze with some amusement.

"Of course not. No way an Ultimate such as yourself would lower yourself-"

"You're a bully." Hinata spoke over his usual monologue. "That's why."

"Oh? Why do you think that?" Komaeda was honestly curious. He'd been called many things; a weirdo, a psycho, an idiot, a freak, but never a bully. In fact, he'd more often been the victim in such situations.

"Well obviously, because you hurt people. You hurt people to make yourself feel better. That makes you a bully. Sometimes, you even pretend that you care about the person first, but that doesn't change the fact that you hurt people. Plus, you try and scare people into doing stuff. That makes you a bully." He stated it calmly, as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The accused was stumped, his mouth hanging open slightly. Hinata was missing the point of his actions entirely!

"You don't understand, Hinata, I do care about you all, very much. But I need to do this to make the Hope in all of you shine brighter!" He tried to simplify his words, so the devolved student could better understand his meaning.

"I don't care about your stupid hope! Friends don't hurt friends!" Tear began to prick at the tanned boy's eyes, a strange sight, considering the person in front of him, was, in fact, seventeen years old, and not seven.

"Ah, well, I'm not really worthy enough to be called a friend to anyone here. I don't think anyone would even care if I died, which is why I'm the perfect stepping stone for a greater hope, though no one seems keen on the offer…"

Hinata was silent. As time ticked by, the lucky boy began to fall back into a trance, missing the quiet words.

"We were friends."

Komaeda froze with shock, heart racing. This was a result of the despair disease, right? There's no way Hinata was really saying this.

"I, ah, think you're mistaken-"

"We were!" Hinata yelled. He stopped for a moment, sniffling.

"I thought you were so nice and kind, and I really thought we were friends. You were so calm too, even though I got all scared and stuff. And then you did that thing at the party."

Komaeda remained silent.

"Hey." The boy looked serious, and, if for a moment, it almost looked like Hinata was completely back to normal.

"I kinda want to know, what were you gonna do with that knife? Cause I really, really, really thought about it, and well, either Teruteru kills you, or you stab someone. So, if you weren't gonna stab yourself, the only person near you was me. Were you going to kill me?" Serious eyes drilled into his soul, and just for a moment, the old Hinata peeked out.

"What?" Komaeda replied dumbly. Honestly, he was still back at the whole 'friends' thing, rationalising it every which way, to the moon and back. His cluttered brain slowly caught up, however, and he chuckled mysteriously. "That's for me to know, and you to find out," he told him.

Internally, he frowned. Hinata was acting like a primary schooler in pretty much every way, but apparently, he'd been a pretty smart kid. Best to change the subject, he wouldn't want a tantrum. Especially since Hinata probably really, really, wouldn't like the answer.

"So, I brought you some toys…" A hinting smile and the rustle of a bag changed the atmosphere completely. Where it had been accusing and suspicious, it now hummed with curiosity.

"They're not the best, but I can probably duck out and get some more later. Here," Hinata leapt for the bag, moving surprisingly quickly despite his illness. Rummaging through it, he pulled the bricks and the ball from the plastic, Komaeda forgotten entirely.

"Guess Monokuma wasn't kidding when he said 'childish'," Komaeda chuckled lightly. He stretched, before taking his place at the doorway, watching the formally fierce debater grin as he played with a rather large pack of Legos. Eventually, Mikan came to take over, and he was free to observe the other two victims and wander around the hospital.

It was almost peaceful. The warmth of the island, the quiet of the hospital, it all rolled together, giving an air of serenity. If it weren't for the memories associated with the place, or the situation at hand, he could almost be convinced that he was on vacation. A wonderful, despair-free vacation on a tropical island.

His train of thought was derailed at the gentle knock at the door of the hospital. Turning around, he was surprised to find none other than Princess Nevermind, hands folded and smiling serenely. Cautiously, he made his way over, opening the door just wide enough to speak through.

"Sonia! It's such a surprise to see you here. Ah, I'm sorry I can't open the door any wider, but I don't want you to get sick." Komaeda addressed the beautiful girl cheerfully, puncturing his apology with a soft smile.

"Of course! I understand. And with so little rooms, it would be rather bothersome if anyone else were to get sick. However, I am here on a mission! I have been commissioned to give you this! I believe it is a protein shake! Akane desperately wanted to give it to Nekomaru, apparently it's his favourite brand." Sonia held out a blue, plastic bottle, displaying it through the glass door with a little wave. "She wanted to bring it herself, but Hiyoko seemed quite set on keeping her away from everyone. She doesn't believe Akane is completely healthy, and claims that Nekomaru infected her. She seems to be fine to me, but at Hiyoko's insistence, spends most of her time on the second island, training on the beach near the beach-house. I do hope she is coping…

Anyways, here is the drink! Please deliver it to Nekomaru as soon as is possible!"

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Komaeda performed a small, respectful bow before reaching through the gap and taking the small bottle.

"Please, while I am here, we are classmates, equals. You will refer to me as such!" Sonia's voice was firm, her statement nothing less than a declaration. The sickly lucky student felt an overwhelming desire to bow again, but more deeply. He held back, however, feeling it would upset the princess more.

So instead he replied with a simple: "Of course."

Watching the golden hair gleaming in the sunlight, he allowed himself a small smirk at the irony of it all, before turning around and heading back inside.

Kuzuryuu was fucking tired. He was tired of Chiaki's screaming, Hinata's antics, Mikan's stuttering and Komaeda's goddamn smile. He wanted to stop. He wanted to run away from everything. And more than anything, he wanted Peko back. Gritting his teeth, he knew that what he wanted didn't matter. It had barely mattered before, before he'd fucked up and basically sealed both Mahiru's and Peko's fates, and it mattered even less now.

That's what he told himself as he carried an armload of damp towels to Chiaki's room, opening the door with one hand, and pushing it open with his foot. Chiaki sat upright on the bed, arms tied to her side with sheets, and a sheet tied around her face as a muffler. She glared at him with what he supposed would count as her 'intensity of a thousand suns' gaze as he placed half the towels on the table next to her.

"Sit down," he sighed. The gamer just glared defiantly. "What are you, twelve? And I thought Hinata has the childish disease…"

Gently pushing her chest, he forced her back into a lying position, carefully placing a cool, damp towel on her forehead.

"You were always pretty cool, you know that? Even during the trials, cool as a goddamn cucumber. Didn't say much, and asleep half the time. But during the last trial, especially, you were pretty cool. Even with the craziness, with Peko doing what she did…" He lapsed into silence, staring at the wall.

"Peko…" he muttered to himself.

"A-Anyway, you were pretty cool, and I just want you to know that I don't really blame you for finding Peko out. It was my fault, our fault, I guess. And it's because you're so freaking cool, that I spend so much time here putting up with you, okay? Cause I swear to god, if you were Komaeda pulling this shit, I'd throw that motherfucker right out the goddamn window, ya hear?" He paused again. "And I'm going to keep you safe. All of you safe. I take back what I said – back then. No more murder. I've had enough. I'll keep you, Hinata and even that psychopath from getting killed. You can count on it." Chiaki just continued to sulk in silence.

"Fine, whatever. I've gotta go, anyway." Kuzuryuu pulled himself up from the lean he didn't realise he was doing, making his way to the lobby, the evening announcement playing as he walked. Leaning forward, he turned the monitor on, where the face of a pink-haired mechanic filled the screen.

"Yo, what's up?" He grinned toothily.

"Not much, right now. Everyone's still sick, as always. Any luck with a cure?" he replied.

"None, sorry man. How's Ha-"

A yell followed by a short scream echoed through the hospital, and Kuzuryuu began to turn back towards the entry doors.

"What the fu-"

"Kuzuryuu!" Hinata threw himself through the entry doors at lightning speed, flinging his arms around the small yakuza and resting his chin on his head. "You're It!" he laughed, before taking notice of the monitor.

"Hey, is that Kazy? Kazy, Kazy, hey! I can see you~" he giggled, leaning forward while still clutching the blonde-haired boy.

"H-Hey, Hinata, you okay? M-Maybe let go of Kuzuryuu, okay? I think he's gonna be mad if you don't let go, like, right now!" Souda's face began to morph into one of panic as the boy struggled in the taller boy's arms, small screams of rage muffled comically.

"Hmm? Oh, okay," he agreed, releasing him and taking a step back.

"-fucking cut you! Oh my god, I'm free." Kuzuryuu spun around. "Do not. Do that. Ever. Again." He warned, his voice little more than a low growl.

"Fine," Hinata sulked, arms crossed.

"Sorry, Souda. See you in the morning, I guess."

"Y-Yeah. See you then."

"C'mon. Back to your room. Didn't Komaeda get you toys or something?" he asked Hinata, as he led the boy by the arm.

"Mhmm. But now they're boooring," he replied, still sulking.

"Whatever."

Hinata tossed and turned. He was so bored. He couldn't sleep. It was too hot. Maybe he could wake Mikan up? The Legos Komaeda brought had been kind of fun…

 _It hurts. It hurts so much. Somebody make it stop. Anybody, please…_

Would they get upset if he pulled them out? Kuzuryuu probably, but he wasn't here, at least not overnight. He'd been stuck in this place for three days. Three whole days! He wanted to run, check out the rest of the island again. Maybe play music with Mioda!

 _I need to rest… I'm so tired. It hurts to breathe. Why am I like this? This isn't right. Please someone help me…even Komaeda…please…it hurts…._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author Note: Hello everyone! Just a note about the upload schedule, I am trying to upload a chapter once a day. That being said, there might be delays here and there because of my schedule and I don't have access to my computer. Please enjoy the story, and feel free to leave any comments (or 'reviews') on theories for upcoming chapters, or even a 'what if' prompt. I'm always looking for inspiration, and comments always make my day, even a comment about whether I wrote a character wrong or well is of great help; I never turn down constructive criticism. Have a good day!_

Mikan blinked awake sleepily, stirring from her most recent nap. Stretching and adjusting her apron in the on-call room, she savoured the crispness of the air, and the slight complaint of her muscles. Pain meant that she was working hard. That she was doing something right, and that the patients were well looked after! And that meant everybody would appreciate her, and forgive her for her horrible personality, her clumsiness, her ugliness, her selfishness…

She's had a great time taking care of the victims of the Despair disease, even if they were more difficult than most patients. Nekomaru didn't say much, but he'd agreed to eat and drink whatever she brought him. Chiaki spent most of her time bound, and screaming whenever she was ungagged. They'd learnt that lesson very quickly after they had to clean up juice off the wall and glass off the floor. Between the three, Hinata was her favourite by far, though he could be a handful. Despite his illness which should have, by all accounts, left him tired, weak and in pain, he was constantly looking for new things to do, and attempting to wander around. His mood could change at the flick of a switch, but Mikan didn't mind too much. He had spent nearly an entire day attached to Komaeda's arm for some mysterious reason, though, which she had ashamedly found quite funny. Even his bad moods were better than Chiaki's, and she had endured far worse than either, and on a daily basis, no less! When he was in a good mood, though, he'd smile and giggle, and would greet her every time she walked in! Mikan had never been so loved.

Hinata had always been nice to her, or at least since they arrived on the island. Every couple of days, he'd ask to hang out with her, much to her shock. The events usually left her crying in confusion, and the boy at a loss, but he'd never attacked her, or even called her names. And now, she got to take care of him! He had to rely on her for everything, food water, treatment, and was even happy to see her while she did it! It was enough to make her tremble with joy.

Humming softly, she opened the door to the room, and descended the stairs, stopping on the first room to her right. Nekomaru occupied this room, with Chiaki and then Hinata's room further down the hall. Twisting the knob, she pushed the door open.

"Good morning Nekomaru!" She cheered, then stopped and blinked. Nekomaru was gone.

Kuzuryuu heard the scream from just outside the hospital.

"Shit!" he swore, bursting through the glass doors. "Mikan?! Mikan, what happened?!" he shouted.

Mikan burst through the lobby doors in response. "N-N-Nekomaru's gone!" she wailed.

"What?! Ah fuck. Mikan, you stay here and keep an eye on the other two. I'll find that mop-head and look for him," he ordered, turning. "We're basically on a giant fucking island, not like there's anywhere for him to go…" he muttered as he strode out the doors.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm a terrible nurse…" Mikan sobbed to herself, turning and pushing her way back into the depths of the hospital.

Kuzuryuu's first port of call was the hotel; he could get help from the motel, but honestly, he wanted to make sure the resident psychopath hadn't simply gone on a casual murder spree. Huffing and out of breath, Kuzuryuu stumbled to halt in front of Komaeda's cottage, his little pixelated sprite mocking him on the mailbox.

"Komaeda!" Kuzuryuu yelled, banging on the cottage. "Get the fuck out here!"

Seconds passed, and the gangster could've sworn his heartbeat ticked with it. Eventually, the door swung open slowly, revealing a sleepy looking lucky student.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" he questioned, covering a yawn.

"No, I just decided to sprint here, bash your door and yell at you for fun," Kuzuryuu said sarcastically. "Yes, something's wrong! Nekomaru's gone missing! You need to help me search."

"Ah, I see! And you wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything suspicious, correct? I can't imagine you'd waste so much time coming to retrieve one person, especially me." Komaeda said sweetly, a knowing smirk twitching on his lips.

"You're not wrong there. But more than that, you're supposed to be supervising them with me, which means it's your responsibility. So, you coming or not?" Kuzuryuu tapped his foot impatiently.

"Of course. Perhaps we should retrieve the others first, however. Checking the islands will take forever with just the two of us." Komaeda suggested.

"You have a point," he conceded. "Let's go to the motel then."

The two sprinted back the third island, arriving at the motel out of breath. Kuzuryuu knocked on the first door, only to receive no response. A knock on the second door revealed it also to be empty. The third door finally opened slowly, revealing a very cranky dancer peeking through the gaps.

"Ugh, it's the shorty and the psycho. What do you want?" She demanded.

"We need your help. Nekomaru's disappeared," Kuzuryuu said.

"And risk getting infected? No way!" she huffed.

"Look, you're the only one who opened the door, we don't know where everyone else is, and we don't have time. You don't have to touch him, we just need help looking. Trying to cover four islands between the two of us is crazy!" he argued.

Komaeda looked on quietly.

Hiyoko looked conflicted. Finally, she sighed. "Whatever, fine. I still don't forgive you for what you did for big sis Mahiru though! I'm only doing this because she probably wouldn't want another murder. But on one condition. You're not leaving me alone with HIM," she pouted, pointing at Komaeda.

"No problem," Komaeda replied smoothly. He turned to Kuzuryuu. "I'll head off to the second island and go fetch Akane. Sonia said that she's been spending a lot of time training at the beach there."

"You talked to Sonia?" Kuzuryuu was suspicious.

"That's right. She turned up to drop off a protein shake on the second day, courtesy of Akane. Meant for Nekomaru, of course."

"Right. Fine. Whatever. You do that, and once you're done, check the first island. Little miss sunshine and I will check this island first, and then the central island. Grab anyone else and update them."

"Understood," Komaeda laughed, turning and jogging away.

"Can we trust him?" Hiyoko questioned.

"Who the fuck knows," Kuzuryuu sighed. "But we don't have enough people, and I'm not letting someone as small as you search alone."

"We're the same size!" She screeched.

"In your dreams," he snorted. "First, let's check the music venue, then we'll move onto Electric Avenue and finish with the movie theatre."

"Whatever," she sighed.

They set off, bickering as they walked. The music venue was empty, and no clues or signs of Nekomaru could be found. They continued walking, only to run into Mioda.

"YOOO! What's this? Gasp! It's Kuzuryuu and Hiyoko! Is this the birth of a brand new rare pair?! Gah, Mioda did not see this coming! What will the fans think?!"

"Mioda, have you seen Nekomaru?" asked Kuzuryuu urgently.

"Nekomaru? Hmmmm, computing, computing…Nope! Mioda has not seen him!" She cheered.

"Shut up, you multicoloured squirrel! What about all the others? Apparently, short stuff here says no one else answered at the hotel," Hiyoko smirked.

"I am this close-," Kuzuryuu began.

"Aha! Mioda knows that! Let's see, Souda is getting changed back at the hotel, he got oil, like, everywhere!"

"And Sonia and Gundham?" the yakuza prompted.

"Haven't seen 'em!" she said cheerfully.

"Well you're a big help," Hiyoko grumbled.

"Mioda thanks you!"

"That was sarcastic, moron!"

Eventually, the group finished bickering, and Mioda agreed to join them in their search for Nekomaru Nidai. The trio continued onwards towards Electric Avenue. Meanwhile, however, on another island…

-Komaeda's POV-

"Akane, where are you?" Komaeda groaned, shielding his eyes from the sun. He'd already visited the beach house where she was supposed to be, but found nothing but divets and tracks of disturbed sand from where she had been training. It was while he was walking past the pharmacy that he paused, instinct taking over. Or maybe…luck. While it would be odd finding Akane in a place like this, checking every location thoroughly would save him running back and forth.

Pushing open the doors, he felt the cool rush of air conditioning hit his face, and he breathed a sigh of relief. His jacket was rather heavy, especially in the harsh tropical heat. A sudden sound caught his attention, drawing him away from the relief of cool air. Grumbling and the sound of clinking could be heard from farther in. Curious, he moved to investigate. Rounding the corner, he was pleasantly surprised to find the person, or one of the people, he was looking for.

Akane sat on the floor, surrounded by a combination of plastic and glass bottles.

"GAAHH! Why's this all so complicated?!" She howled, throwing one (thankfully plastic) bottle at a wall. She ran her hands through her hair angrily. The wild mop that it had become suggested this was not the first time she had done this.

"Ah, Akane?" Komaeda questioned, not wanted to draw the fury of the frustrated athlete.

"Komaeda!" she yelped in surprise. "Oi, don't be sneaking up on people like that!"

"Sorry, Akane, I really didn't mean to. But I'm rather curious, what is it that you're doing with all those bottles?"

"Oh, these?" she looked around at the dozens of bottles spread around her, and back to the pale boy. "Isn't it obvious? I'm looking for a cure!" she yelled, pumping an arm up and down.

"A cure? To the Despair Disease?" Komaeda raised an eyebrow. "I don't think Monokuma would leave such a thing simply lying around, Akane. Though I'm sure everyone appreciated the effort."

A beat of silence followed his words. Slowly, she bowed her head, looking at the floor, face inscrutable.

"I…I know that. I'm not really THAT stupid. Mikan would've already taken anything useful anyways, but…I had to try you know? The old man…he's always so full of life! And, well, since he's became sick, he won't even talk anymore! It's so depressing! And what pisses me off even more is that no one is even lifting a finger. We said we'd find a cure, but they're all just sitting on their butts!" She seethed.

"I'm not the smartest person here, I can't *make* a cure, not like some doctor or whatever could,-"

I don't think that's what doctors do, thought Komaeda, but he didn't interrupt the gymnast.

"So, I'm doing my best sorting through these medicines! But they're all labelled with these weird names, I can't understand a thing!" Akane finished. She looked tired, if not defeated. "I just want to help the old man for once, ya know?"

"I understand perfectly, Akane. Even in this despairing situation, you refuse to give up on hope for the sake of Nekomaru! You truly are suited to be a symbol of Hope! But I'm afraid, Akane, that the medicines you've been checking are cold medicines."

"Cold medicine?" she asked, confused.

"Right. See, everything has already been organised onto certain shelves, and in precise, even rows! The cold medicine was here, the antibiotics here, you can see some are missing from where Mikan took them, and the tranquilizer is here!" he pointed to another shelf.

"I believe Mikan took this particular brand, the one with the orange label. See how there's one missing?" he paused for a moment.

"Odd," he muttered.

"Huh? What?"

"There's a bottle with an orange label missing, but more importantly, Akane, there's also one missing from the blue label brand." He'd make sure to question Mikan about it when he got back.

"So?"

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"Whatever, I get it!" she yelled. She crossed her arms and stared at him huffily. "But seriously, there's one thing on my mind right now. Why aren't you back at the hospital helping the old man?!"

"Ah, well, you see, the thing is…"

"-YOU LOST HIM?" Akane roared.

"Unfortunately so. I suppose that means he haven't seen him?" Komaeda chuckled nervously.

"DAMN RIGHT I HAVEN'T."

"Well then, would you mind helping me search? Kuzuryuu and Hiyoko are searching the third island, and I still have this and the first island to cover."

"Of course! What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Grabbing the scrawny boy by the arm, she yanked him along, accelerating into a record breaking sprint.

"AKANE, PLEASE, OW, SLOW DOWN," the normally quiet lucky student yelped.

"Hurry up slowpoke!" she bellowed in return.

-Kuzuryuu's POV-

The walk to the movie theatre felt like it took years. Hiyoko stood to his right, blathering and shooting insults at Mioda, who stood to his left. He wasn't sure what she was doing. Writing a song, maybe? He wasn't sure why she was making siren noises, it was really his best guess. Eventually, they stepped through the entranceway, the cool air enveloping them. The lobby was empty, he deduced from a quick glance. The door to the screen itself was ajar, if slightly.

Perhaps someone had come to see a movie? He thought. Shrugging, he decided it was worth the investigation. Nekomaru could be anywhere, and the screening room would likely be dark and cool, a perfect hiding spot.

Opening the door and stepping inside, nothing at first appearing remiss. Then, noticing the scent in the room, he felt as if he'd been punched in the gut.

Blood.

"NEKOMARU!" he called, his voice panicked. He crept forward, Mioda and Hiyoko behind him. Noticing the smell, they too had fallen silent.

And then, standing at the top of the steps, they saw it. Blood. Blood splattering the seats, soaking into the blue carpet, glazed eyes, broken, twisted bodies, the knife.

Just metres away, the bodies of Gundham Tanaka and Sonia Nevermind lay sprawled.

Hiyoko screamed.

"KYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

*Ding Dong, Ding Dong. A body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation, a class trial will be held!*

"Fuck," Kuzuryuu breathed.

Eventually Hiyoko's screams died down to whimpers and Mioda murmured something about fetching the others.

Minutes passed as the two students simply stood at the entrance, aghast. Soon, other members of the class began to filter in; Akane burst through the doorway loudly, while Souda moped in afterwards. Mioda walked in slowly, in contrast to her usual demeanour. More time passed, and eventually Komaeda appeared, followed by none other than Hinata. Mikan, Nekomaru and Chiaki soon arrived afterwards, looking confused and worried.

'Ah, Kuzuryuu! While I see you didn't manage to find Nekomaru, you seem to have stumbled on a murder instead! How unfortunate." Komaeda smiled. "I take it you were first to find the body?"

"Y-Yeah. And, uh, bodies, actually." Kuzuryuu swallowed heavily.

"Bodies?" Komaeda questioned. "How strange…"

Ignoring the weird student, Kuzuryuu instead focused on the surprise appearance of the three previously sick students. No longer were they pale or sickly; instead they appeared to be in perfect health, if a little confused.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here?!" his disbelief echoing in the open space.

"Honestly, I'm still not sure what's happening," Hinata admitted. "I just remember falling asleep and waking up in the hospital. I heard something about a disease, and next thing I know, Komaeda saying something about a body and dragging me out the door."

"A-Ah, well, after the b-b-body discovery announcement w-went off, Monokuma appeared. He said that h-he d-didn't need the motive a-anymore, and that everyone was f-fine now." Mikan stammered.

"And Nekomaru?!" Kuzuryuu demanded forcefully.

"I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry, I-I'm so i-incredibly useless, I-I lost m-my patient a-and-"

"Where was he, Mikan?" he asked more quietly.

"I-It turns o-out h-he was h-h-h-hiding b-behind the hospital the whole t-time! I-I'm sorry I made you g-go on that wild goose chase!" she cried.

"Behind the- really?!" His day was getting better and better.

"Anyway," Hinata interrupted. "There's been a murder?"

"Yeah," Kuzuryuu sighed. "Two, in fact." He pointed behind him. "Gundham and Sonia both bit the dust."

"That's horrible!" Mikan cried again.

"Seriously?" Hinata looked aghast. "Two? Why would anyone kill two people? That's-"

"Completely impractical." Komaeda mused. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"You only need to kill one person to leave, after all. Killing two simply increasing the evidence left behind and the chance you'll be caught!"

"Komaeda, you…" started Hinata angrily.

"Are you sure now's the time, Hinata? There's two murders to solve, after all. Although, it's rather strange, don't you think, Kuzuryuu?"

"Wha-me? What have I got to do with this?! Don't pin any of this on me!" He spat.

"Oh no, you misunderstand, I simply want to hear your opinion." Komaeda laughed. "I just thought, 'isn't it strange, Kuzuryuu says there's two bodies, but the announcement only went off once!'"

"Announcement?"

"The body discovery announcement. Wouldn't you think it'd go off once for each person?"

Silence fell on the five of them as they realised the implication of Komaeda's words.

"We need to check the bodies," Hinata said suddenly, his voice wavering. "Mikan, see if you can find a first aid kit somewhere."

The four dashed through the doors and observed the scene in front of them. Gundham was the closest to the door, several aisles up from where Sonia lay. He was laying on his side, his thick scarf bundled around neck as usual, hamsters nowhere to be seen. Blood pooled underneath him, glinting darkly in the low light. Darkness obscured his face, making his eyes impossible to see. A knife was plunged into the right side of his chest, and black build up surround the still-impaled blade.

Sonia lay several aisles down, sprawled awkwardly across several seats. Her lower half hung over the closed seats, and her head lay at an odd angle, twisting where her head met the floor. Shock was written across her face, blue eyes empty and unreactive.

Hinata and Chiaki lent down next to Gundham, while Kuzuryuu and Komaeda took a closer look at Sonia. Kuzuryuu grimaced at the thought of touching a body, but reached forward and checked her anyways. He was a yakuza after all, and the heir to the Kuzuryuu family. A little bit of death shouldn't really faze him this much. It hadn't actually, at least up until Peko's death. Perhaps the finality it represented had sunk in after years of de-sensitization. After a few seconds, he pulled away, shaking his head. Even without looking for the pulse he couldn't find, he knew that she'd been dead the moment he laid eyes on her. Her unseeing eyes, the angle of her neck and the stillness of her chest were giveaways to say the least.

A sudden shout from Hinata cut through his thoughts.

"We have a pulse!" Immediately, everyone in the area turned in shock. Voices clamoured to be heard as confusion swirled in the room.

"I have the kit! Please let me see!" Mikan pushed her way through the small crowd. Hinata, Chiaki, Nekomaru, Kuzuryuu, Mioda, Akane and Hiyoko watched on in concern. Komaeda remained by Sonia's side, observing her wounds, turning her wrists this way and that. Souda stood staring at Sonia's body, a mixture of shock and grief clouding his face.

With Mikan's expertise, Gundham's condition was quickly appraised. He had received a single stab to the chest, which had missed his heart. Everyone sombrely filed away the information for the trial. Akane sprinted to fetch a stretcher from the hospital, onto which Gundham was quickly loaded and taken away by Mikan and Nekomaru.

A beat of silence passed after the two left. Finally, Hinata stretched and took a deep breath. Kuzuryuu released the one he didn't realise he was holding. It was obvious what everyone had to do now; he could tell by the determined glint in Hinata's eyes; investigate.

DEADLY LIFE: INVESTIGATE

-Hinata's POV-

"Finally got that weirdo carted out the crime scene huh? Too bad, thought I might've gotten a second body. But I guess you guys were just too good for me!" Monokuma popped into existence beside the brown-haired boy, making him jump in shock.

"So I was right then?" Komaeda inquired. "The body announcement plays once for each person?"

"Yeah, you were right. It's too bad I'm so honest, you might have gone through the whole investigation. But you know what they say, 'bears don't lie'!"

"I don't think anyone anywhere has ever said that." Hinata deadpanned.

"Details!" roared Monokuma. "Here, before I change my mind!" Everyone's ehandbook vibrated and Hinata pulled his out to see the familiar logo of the Monokuma file.

Tapping it, he pulled up the profile, staring at the outline of Sonia on the left side of the screen. A lump formed in his throat and he paused to breathe. Sonia; she was kind, beautiful, and a force of nature all on her own. She could be confused by cultural norms, but never let that dampen her spirit. Studying the outline, the most prominent injury was the pink line across her neck. He slid the profile downwards and began to read.

'Monokuma File #3

The victim was Sonia Nevermind, Ultimate Princess. The body was found in the film room of the movie theatre. The cause of death was a broken neck and was instantaneous. Additional injuries include bruising on both wrists.'

\- Monokuma file #3 added

No time of death? That…was odd. Firstly, he should try to understand when the body was discovered and the timeline up until that point.

"Hey, Kuzuryuu?" he called. "What time did you, Mioda and Hiyoko find the body?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm not sure. It was just before 11 when we realised Nekomaru was missing. I immediately ran to grab Komaeda. It takes about twenty minutes to get to the first island and back, but he was being an ass, so it was probably closer to thirty. Talking to Hiyoko and investigating the music venue means I probably met up with Mioda just before Electric Avenue around 1145am. I questioned her for a bit, then we checked out the all the stores, which took more time. So, maybe about 1215pm?"

"I see. Was Komaeda with you the whole time?" he asked, frowning.

"Actually, no, he went off to grab Akane and search the second island. You don't think he had something to do with this?" Kuzuryuu exclaimed.

"Who knows." Hinata muttered.

\- Kuzuryuu's account added

Next up was to the check the body. Hinata crouched down, wincing at how her eyes stared aimlessly. Starting with her wrists, Hinata lifted them carefully. On her left wrist, he spotted the soft red marks wrapping around the whole wrist. The underside was a single, thin line of red, but the top of the wrist had a thicker band of red.

"It's almost as if someone grabbed her wrist with considerable force," a voice commented behind him. Hinata jumped, before turning and glaring at the lucky student who stood behind him, smiling in a mimicry of a helpful smile. "I mean, that's what it looks like to me. I'm not Mikan, after all. I do hope she hurries with Gundham, it will quite difficult to determine time of death without her."

Hinata knew he was right, but instead focused on the task at hand. "Grabbed her wrist?" he asked.

"Right. Both wrists, too, if the Monokuma file is to be believed." He added.

"You can't tell by looking?" Hinata frowned.

"Take a look." Komaeda nodded at the body.

Scowling, Hinata grabbed Sonia's right wrist, lifting it gingerly.

This is…!

Blood lined the underside of Sonia's wrist, the only spot clean being the centre of her palm. The top of her wrist was fairly clean, though the same thick red band could be seen. One part of the splatter was disturbed, Hinata saw. It looked…smeared? But where would she have gotten the blood from?

\- Bruising pattern added

\- Blood on wrist added

Moving to stand, Hinata spotted something glinting underneath the seats in front. Frowning, he reached his arm forward, grasping the smooth object. Pulling it out, he found himself holding a small glass bottle filled with clear liquid. A label he didn't understand was stuck to the front, where white writing contrasted against a blue background. He'd either have to check with Mikan or the pharmacy to find out what it is.

\- Glass bottle added

Satisfied that he found everything, he finally straightened, turning to the hovering boy.

"I suppose you'll want to talk to me now, Hinata?" he smirked.

"I do. First though, could you maybe fill me in on what exactly happened with this Despair Disease?" Hinata asked awkwardly. "No one really got around to that."

"Oh? Hinata, could it be that you don't remember what happened?" Komaeda asked, curious.

"No, I don't. Last thing I remember clearly is going to bed about five days ago. I have bits and pieces of Mikan taking care of me, but that's about it. Chiaki and Nekomaru seem the same."

"I see." Komaeda looked thoughtful. "Well, on the first day, Akane brought Nekomaru to the restaurant. He had a fever and wouldn't talk much, and when he did, he said very negative things. I believe he had a strain called the 'Giving Up' disease. Then you wandered in, again with a fever, though you were singing and giggling. You had the 'Childish' disease. And I found Chiaki and dragged her back to the restaurant. She seemed determined to fight everyone, and had the 'Rage' disease. We took you all to the hospital and took care of you around the clock. Kuzuryuu had morning shift, I had the afternoon shift and Mikan took naps in the on-call room. Everyone else stayed in the motels nearby in case the hotel was contaminated, and they checked in after every morning and evening call via a camera and monitor set."

"I…see." God, do I want to know what I was like?

"You were like a five-year-old hyped on sugar and red cordial." Kuzuryuu wandered up to them. Was he psychic or something?

"Now that you're filled in, would you like to hear what happened this morning? I assume it hasn't been explained completely to you yet." He waved cheerfully, and Hinata had to resist the urge to deck him. On one hand, everything the lucky student did enrage him; his smiles and offhand comments almost degrading to his dead friends. On the other, he yearned to understand Komaeda and find that kind boy he'd met on the beach that first day.

"Yeah, sure." He sighed.

The two explained their sides of the story, from rushing from island to island and Akane's desperate attempt at finding a cure.

\- Kuzuryuu's Account updated

"One thing I found a little odd was that one of the bottles of sedatives was missing. I noticed it because it had a different colour label than the ones that Mikan used."

"What colours were they?" Hinata asked on a hunch.

"Orange for Mikan and blue for the missing bottle." Komaeda replied.

"That's…strangely helpful." Kuzuryuu said, suspicious.

"Well, Hinata here is so far behind, I felt bad that he'd have to run back and forth all over the place. If you don't believe my testimony, you can also ask Akane. I pointed it out to her while I was there."

"I'll make sure," the cynical student replied.

After wandering off and question Akane and verifying that yes, Komaeda was telling the truth, Hinata stopped at the entranceway.

\- Blue bottle updated

\- Komaeda's account added

"Hmm? What's this?" he muttered spotting what looked like a toy gun on the ground. It was dark blue and orange and looked like an airsoft gun. Trying to pick it up, he found it required a quick tug before it came loose. Checking underneath, he noted dried glue on the underside. A string was attached to the trigger of the gun, which connected over a hook and hung loose next to the door handle.

The way this was set up…Opening the door would pull the trigger of the gun. But why would it be set up here? And where were the darts?

\- Airsoft gun added

"Hajimeeee~, Ha-ji-meeeeee~!" he turned only to be nearly bowled over by a ball of purple and black excitement.

"Mioda?" he grunted.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" she yelled. "Mioda found a clue!" she added.

"A clue?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"Uh huh. It's in the projector room!"

Hinata followed Mioda to the projector room, to find her standing next to an open chest. It was wooden and looked as if it could be locked with a key. It certainly did not look like it belonged in the projector room. But it was the contents of the chest that were the most intriguing. A dress, a blood pack and a plastic bullet lay in the bottom. Just as Mioda was about to reach inside, however, Hinata saw something glint, and stopped her. He followed the shine to the 'plastic' bullet, and reached for it carefully. Pulling it into the light, he examined it and found a sharp needle point extending at one end.

"Someone put a syringe through a bullet?" Astonished, he turned it this way and that, and found the plunger could be pulled out. The syringe itself was empty, however.

\- Chest contents added

\- Dart and syringe added

Making is way downstairs, he looked around the floor for more clues. Popcorn, he noticed, littered the ground near where Gundham had lain prone.

"Monokuma!" he called.

"Yo, what's up?" the plushie bounced, smirking.

"You clean the cinema after every showing, right?"

"Yep! Some places are all gross and leave old food, but I hate it. I mean, you're trying to enjoy a movie and move your foot and BAM, stuck to the floor because of spilled soda. Gross."

\- Monokuma's Account added

"H-Hinata!" he turned to find Mikan stumbling towards him.

"Mikan! What are you doing here? Aren't you looking after Gundham?" he asked in surprise.

"H-he's stable for now. I needed to check time of d-death, so I came back!" she told him nervously. "I hope that's alright!"

"It's great, actually. What did you find?"

"Ah, h-her temperature estimates her time of death at around 12pm!" she exclaimed.

"12pm? That's just before Kuzuryuu found them. It's a close time frame." He muttered. "Thanks, Mikan."

\- Mikan's Account added

He wandered off, before noticing a colourful piece of cloth. It was a red and yellow circle with two black lines crossing over in the middle. Hinata felt her had seen it somewhere before. "But where?"

\- Cloth piece

*Ding Dong, Ding Dong. The period for investigation is over, bastards! Make your way to Monokuma rock asap!*

"What?! I haven't even had time to question everyone!" Hinata groaned.

"Too bad man. Hopefully everything will work out." Kuzuryuu encouraged. He walked on ahead, leaving Hinata worried and stressed, as well as confused as to how the yakuza had gotten so nice so quickly.

 _Who could it be?_


	4. Chapter 4

Apparently attending two trials already had done nothing to dull his nerves, Hinata thought, as he swallowed heavily, the air in the elevator heavy. Like always, he peeked out the corner of his eye, studying the students fidgeting alongside him, looking for a sign that would give the murderer away. Kuzuryuu was pale, playing with the hem of his jacket. Mioda bounced nervously on her soles of her feet, humming quietly. Hiyoko scowled to herself, kimono blocking her mouth as she held it close. Mikan sobbed to herself in a corner while Komaeda stared at nothing in particular, humming in that peculiar way of his. Nekomaru stood stock still, unmoving and staring straight ahead as if his gaze could burn through the elevator doors. Chiaki played a video game on her handheld, no doubt trying to calm herself. Souda was also quiet, the only noise he made being the sniffles he made, occasionally punctuating the quiet but tense atmosphere.

Who? he thought. Who was it? He honestly couldn't tell. He didn't know why he thought he'd be able to tell this time when he hadn't the last couple. Because he knew them better, maybe? He just had to follow through with the trial, and do the best he could. But one thing niggled at the back of his mind, unending in its whispers. The three people with the Despair Disease, that is, him, Chiaki and Nekomaru, didn't remember much beyond small snippets from their time in the hospital.

What if one of them had committed murder and didn't remember it? What if he was the murderer? Could he really defend himself this time around with full confidence? He had to try.

Monokuma's painfully obnoxious voice droned on, explaining yet again the procedure for the class trial. And with that, the trial began.

"So, h-how will we begin this time?" Mikan ventured first.

"No one wants to hear from you, pig!" Hiyoko snarled.

"I'm sorry!"

"Hmm…how about we go over how the body was discovered?" Komaeda suggested, a smile dancing on his lips. He almost seemed to glance at Hinata for approval as he did so.

"It's as good as a place as any, I guess," Kuzuryuu grunted in response. He shifted slightly in his seat, tapping his electronic student pad, likely bringing up his notes, Hinata guessed.

"So, it all started at about 11am when Mikan realised that Nekomaru was missing. She told me right away, of course, and I rushed off to find him. First off though, I ran back to the first island to grab the hope freak here," he said, gesturing to Komaeda. "I got there about 11:10am, I think. After talking about it for a bit, we realised we were going to need some more help covering the islands, and headed back to the third island. Unsurprisingly, he's not the fittest person in the world, so we didn't even make it back before 11:30am, I'd say. After that, I convinced Miss sassy pants here to help out, and Komaeda went back to the second island to look for Akane, since we figured she'd be happy to help out. Hiyoko and I checked the hotel and music venue, before running into Mioda at around 11:45am before Electric Avenue. She helped us search and we arrived at 12:15pm to find Sonia and Gundham dead. Or at least mostly dead, in Gundham's case." He finished.

"That makes sense, I guess." Souda muttered, rubbing the side of his head.

"That's cool and all, but Mioda wants to know how Sonia died!" Mioda yelled impatiently.

"Mioda, there's an order-" Hinata began.

"The Monokuma File says the cause of death was a broken neck." Kuzuryuu cut off.

"A broken neck?! That settles it, Nekomaru's the killer!" Hiyoko declared, glaring around the room. Akane met that gaze with unrelenting feral anger.

"You want to say that again?! The old man wouldn't hurt a fly! You looking for a fight?" she roared, cracking her knuckles.

"Ghh!" Hiyoko flinched, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. "Wahhhh!" she cried. "I o-only said that because old Nekomaru is the o-only one s-strong enough to break someone's neck!"

"That's certainly true." Komaeda hummed thoughtfully. "But that's if you were to use your hands."

At this point, the Hinata gave up. Where they were once talking about the circumstances around Sonia's death, now they were talking about the murder weapon. That was a rocky transition to say the least, but he may as well try to follow along.

"Are you saying that they broke it another way?" he heard Mioda ask.

"Huh? Maybe like a baseball bat?" Akane questioned, confused.

"Maybe they used a magic spell?" a sleepy voice pondered.

"Mioda thinks arms grew out of her back and twisted it 'til it broke!"

"What the fuck, Mioda?"

"A-Actually," Hinata raised his voice above the commotion. "I don't think they used a weapon, or their bare hands at all."

"Y-You don't?!" Souda interjected.

Hinata took a moment to reflect on the fact that these were Ultimates. It really should have been obvious looking at the crime scene, but apparently, they probably couldn't logic their way out of a carboard box. Chiaki was usually more helpful than this, and for a moment, Hinata wished Sonia and Gundham were here. They often gave strange or impossible responses, but one of the two was usually reliable at a time like this. Shaking it off, he continued, laying down the facts.

"Why don't you all look back to the scene of the crime? Here, look. Sonia was spread over this row of seats here, Row G. Her legs and back are lying on top of these seats, right? But her upper half, including her head, are on the floor. Now why would she be in such a weird position?" He explained.

"I don't get it." Akane said bluntly.

"Ah! Are y-you saying that maybe she was p-pushed?" Mikan answered timidly.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Hinata confirmed. "Look, her neck breaks right about where it meets the floor. If someone pushed her at that angle, the force on her neck could have easily broken it. Plus, there weren't any finger-marks or any kind of other markings that would indicate a weapon."

"I see!" Mikan brightened. "So, the true cause of death was being pushed down the seats. Since they're gradated, it's exactly like pushing someone down the stairs!"

"That sounds…plausible." Nekomaru agreed.

"Yep, I'm good with that." Akane grinned.

One by the one, the others nodded in agreement.

Sonia was killed by being pushed over the seats

"So now we have cause of death," Kuzuryuu started. "How about we move on to time of death? That way, we can hear everyone's alibis, and get to the most of likely suspects quicker."

"Y-Yeah. Right. Mikan?" Hinata was perturbed. Kuzuryuu had begun to make a turn around when he had gotten sick, even offering a deep apology, but he really must've missed something for Kuzuryuu to be this helpful.

Perhaps too helpful? The thought infiltrated Hinata's mind before he knew it, and he thrust the thought out. It wasn't time to doubt his friends; at least without evidence backing it up. Doubt without evidence was just paranoia, after all.

"Me?!" she squeaked in response.

"Yeah, you estimated TOD for us using temperature before, right?"

"Ah! That's right! Ah, according to my calculations, Sonia died around midday!"

"Midday?!" Souda parroted. "But that's…so soon! How'd the killer get in, take down Gundham, push Miss Sonia and leave before Kuzuryuu arrived?! I mean, they'd at least see the killer walking down the road, or leaving, right?!"

"It's…a small timeframe." Hinata admitted. "But it's what we've got to work with. Plus, there's a bit of a leeway, I'd think. You said it was based on temperature, right Mikan?"

"Yes! And s-since not all human bodies are the same, they can d-differ just a little. Plus, the venue was airconditioned, which makes it harder again… so we probably have about ten minutes either side!" she explained excitedly.

"I see. Between five and twenty-five minutes to commit murder, clean up and leave." Komaeda hummed.

Sonia was likely killed between 1150am-1210pm

"Alright then. Alibis, everybody." Kuzuryuu demanded.

Finally, thought Hinata. They were back on topic.

"Hummm… Well, Hinata and I were sick in bed. I think." sighed Chiaki.

"You think?" said Souda, looking suspiciously at the small gamer.

"Honestly, I don't really have a lot of memories from the incident. Neither do Hinata or Nekomaru, I think." She hummed in response.

"But doesn't that mean you could've left and killed someone, and not even know about it?!" he exclaimed angrily, a finger pointed accusingly.

"He has a point," Nekomaru rumbled. "In fact, when I awoke, I found myself in a rather odd place!"

"R-Right! I e-eventually found Nekomaru behind the hospital when I left for a breath of f-fresh air. That was about ten past, I think." Mikan offered.

"So, I wasn't wrong! The smelly old man did kill miss perfect!" Hiyoko cheered.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up the first time?!" Akane shot back. "You can't prove nothing! What'd the old man ever do to you?!"

The dancer shrunk into her kimono. After a moment, she looked down at her pedestal, refusing to meet the gymnasts eyes. There was fear clouding her face, but perhaps just a little more than that. Perhaps…guilt? Hinata noted with some surprise. Maybe she really was trying to become a better person.

This was confirmed when the tiniest whisper escaped the small girl's mouth.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Akane looked surprised, but just nodded solemnly.

Hinata took a mental step back from the case, categorising everything he had learnt. Nekomaru had no alibi, which was suspicious for sure. But he hadn't collected enough evidence yet to accuse him.

"Mioda thinks it could still be him," the musician pondered. Akane turned her ferocious glare towards the daydreamer. "After all, isn't Nekomaru the only one without an alibi?"

"No, that's wrong!" Hinata cut off. "There are still people who don't have an alibi, especially with the leeway either side! I mean, we haven't even shared everyone's alibis yet, Mioda. I, uh, think you're jumping the mark a little."

"Oh! Mioda is sorry! Continue!" she saluted cheerfully.

"So, Nekomaru doesn't have an alibi. Chiaki and I were sick in bed according to Mikan. Kuzuryuu, you, Hiyoko and Mioda were together from 1145, you said?"

"Yeah. The shorty took for-everrr to check out all the lame stores. Honestly, Nekomaru is like a bear, it's not like he could be hiding inside a tv. But he checked anyway. It added on an extra half an hour or so it felt like." She fluttered a fan she pulled from inside her sleeve, hiding her mouth as she snickered.

"Okay. And Komaeda, what about you?" he asked, sliding his eyes over to where the white-haired boy smiled innocently.

"Ah, I suppose even someone like me needs an alibi, or should I say, especially someone like me? I went to the second island, like I was instructed, and set out to find Akane. I found her eventually in the pharmacy, of all places. That should have been around 11:50am, I'd think. We were together the whole time.

"Right," said Akane. "As much as I hate to admit it, he was with me the whole time. Though I think it was a little earlier than that, because right after he found me, we headed back to the first island."

"The first island?" Hinata asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah. I thought Nekomaru might've gone back to his cabin. Sometimes the most obvious place is the best place! Anyway, while we were there, we ran into Souda, who was going into his cabin. That was maybe twenty minutes before we heard the announcement, I reckon."

"Right!" yelped Souda. "I was back at my cabin the entire time! Unless you think I was able to get the third island, k-kill m-miss Sonia, leave and clean up in fifteen minutes!"

"I agree, that'd be pretty close, even with the extra time," Chiaki yawned.

"So, everyone except Nekomaru has an alibi? How odd. Unless he's the killer, of course." Komaeda laughed.

Did Nekomaru really kill Sonia and attack Gundham? Hinata bit his thumb in thought. It just didn't make sense. Where did he get the knife? Why were those strange items scattered on the floor and in the projector room? What was his motive?

"I disagree!" Hiyoko called smugly.

"Huh?"

"Who gave the pig breath an alibi, huh?" she asked, a cruel smile twitching at her lips. "I mean, she can give you guys an alibi, but it's not like you can give her one. You said you guys don't even remember being sick!"

Silence descended upon the scene. One by one, eyes turned to Mikan, who stood trembling behind her lectern. It's true, Hinata realised. Without witnesses to go by, Mikan and Nekomaru both remained suspicious. Mikan had broken down under the force of the gazes thrust upon her, and was sobbing quietly into her hands.

"P-Please," she whimpered. "It w-wasn't m-me."

"Like we'd believe that, PIG SHIT," Hiyoko smirked.

"I don't know guys," Souda mumbled half-heartedly. "Do you really think Mikan could've done it?"

"You say something, monkey waste?!" the dancer sneered.

"…" Souda said nothing for a moment. Then, "Y-Yeah! I don't think Mikan could've done it! Cause well, she'd have to take on Gundham and Sonia, right? There were two of them! Mikan's so small and timid; there's no way she could do it!"

"That's not quite right, Souda." Hinata interjected. The others turned to him, watching as the boy appeared lost in thought.

"You're right in that it would be difficult, but not impossible. It wouldn't take much to push Sonia down the stairs; and if the culprit attacked Gundham first, it's possible that they could've surprised him. But I don't think that's enough evidence to convict Mikan OR Nekomaru of the murder. No, I think we need to move on and examine the most important part of this case; the crime scene."

"You're gonna let them off the hook that easily?" Akane questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah! It's not like you actually know them, either! They could secretly be a psychopath, killing people out of some strange delusion, like a serial killer dedicating kills to some sort of messed up obsession!" Hiyoko scoffed.

"Nekomaru could even be a robot in disguise!" gasped Mioda, proving to be of no help whatsoever.

"It's not like we have a choice." Komaeda hummed. "Even if one of them were guilty, what are you going to do, play paper-scissors-rock to decide who to vote against? Plus, I'd say there's more to this case then meets the eye."

"Oi, you crazy fucker, what do you know?!" Kuzuryuu pressed. The lucky student only smiled mysteriously as Hinata and Kuzuryuu glared in frustration.

"Whatever. We'll figure this out ourselves, as always. He's got a point though," the yakuza added, turning back to the remaining nine students. "We can't just go voting randomly. We have to solve ALL the mysteries. Otherwise we'll end up deader than kittens in a river."

"That's not morbid at all…" Souda muttered.

"I definitely agree," Chiaki chimed in.

"That it's morbid?"

"No, about solving all the mysteries. It's what our friends deserve after all." She smiled softly, lifting one hand to her heart. Hinata swallowed heavily, the moment of finding Gundham's body, collapsed in a pool of blood, and Sonia, twisted unnaturally over the seats, flashing behind his eyes.

"And besides," she continued thoughtfully. "I can't help but think the crime scene this time was fairly strange."

"Huh? Whaddya mean, strange?" Confused, Akane scratched her head.

"I think she's talking about the items scattered on the floor, and all the other evidence we found. Normally, the evidence is concealed, or even partially hidden, like Teruteru's skewer, or the water bottles in the bin. When we walked into the theatre there was stuff everywhere, all over the floor, or just sitting in an unlocked box. Why didn't the killer clean up after themselves?"

"Maybe instead of real evidence, it was fake?" Akane put forward. "They chucked a bunch of random things in with the rest, to confuse us. It happened with the gummy bear."

"R-Right, maybe they're trying to mislead us by throwing a bunch of the floor; that way they can put something back without people noticing!"

"Why something back? I don't think that makes a lotta sense, Mikan."

"Sorry!"

"If they have thrown in some fake stuff, this trial is gonna be a pain in the ass," Kuzuryuu groaned.

"Are you sure the killer's that smart?" Hiyoko taunted.

"Y-Yeah. Maybe the killer ran out of time or something! Or p-panicked and ran out without cleaning up!"

"It's possible." Hinata muttered. He thought silently for a minute, as his classmates bickered back and forth over time and fake evidence.

"I don't think the evidence is fake," Chiaki said suddenly. "It would be a better idea to take the evidence with you, rather than leave it behind. The gummy bear was there to frame someone specific. This isn't the case this time, none of it points to anyone in particular. At the very least, worrying about it won't make it any better."

"She's right. We gotta move on." Kuzuryuu sighed.

"Hmm…"

"Hmmmmm…"

"Hmmmmmmmm…."

"…Yes, Mioda?" Hinata sighed. The musician had been standing there, her humming slowly growing louder and louder, as she stood with her arms crossed, looking serious.

"If we're talking about the weird stuff on the floor, Mioda wants to know what the gun is about!" she declared, almost angrily. She grabbed her horns, ruffling her hair in frustration. "Mioda thinks and thinks and thinks, but she doesn't know what the gun was for!"

"There was a GUN?" yelped Souda.

"Maybe if you'd actually helped out…" The short blonde adjusted his tie, clearing his throat. "Yeah, there seemed to be a plastic air gun by the entrance to the cinema. The trigger had been loosely wrapped with ribbon. I checked, and the ribbon went to the top of the door, and the other end had a loop in it. It wasn't connected to anything, though; it just hung there."

"Oh, so not a real gun…" Souda mumbled.

"Maybe it was meant to go over the inside handle of the door?" Chiaki wondered aloud.

"But why'd someone set up a prank like that?" Hiyoko asked.

"Prank?" Hinata blinked.

"It's like super old; if it works, anyway, the line has to be super smooth, though I guess ribbon would do the trick. You loosely wrap the trigger, hang it over a hook and connect it to a door handle. Then the person opens the door, blam! The gun shoots them right in the face!" she giggled evilly.

"But why would they do something like that? Setting that up would make it difficult to leave the room? And what would that being shot with a plastic dart do?" Kuzuryuu questioned.

"I believe Hinata should have found the answer in his search," laughed Komaeda tauntingly, as the gazes of Hinata's classmate swung to the nervous boy.

 _Think, think_ he thought desperately, running through the evidence in his head. Clothes, the cloth piece, the modified dart, the bottle…

The epiphany hit him hard, like a burst of light in his head, and he opened his eyes, a confident smile sitting comfortably on his face.

"It wasn't what being shot with a plastic dart would do, but what being shot with a drugged dart would do." He said.

"Drugged?!" Mioda gasped dramatically.

"Right. While I was searching, I found two strange pieces of evidence that I didn't connect with each other initially. First, we have this modified dart that I found in a chest that Mioda showed me," he said, pulling the object out of his pocket. He'd been extraordinarily careful walking to the trial room, making sure it hadn't pierced through the material of his pants. He made it a habit, to bring as much evidence with him as possible, in case they revealed extra clues. He didn't think the syringe had been used, but precautions were better taken.

He held the dart up to the light, the short metal blade glinting dangerously. The syringe placed inside was hidden by the rest of the dart, and only the plunger stuck out the other end, a heavy ball of what looked like sticky tack stuck to one end.

"Is that…?" Souda looked shocked, mouth dropping open a little.

"It's a syringe combined with a plastic dart. The tack at the end was likely to give the plunger some extra weight. When the dart is fired, the momentum would likely make sure the plunger pushed forward. As long as the drug inside was strong enough, just a little would probably be enough to make anyone drowsy, if not knock them out." Hinata explained calmly.

"Knock them out? Why do you think that's what they were doing? Wouldn't it be easier to put some poison and kill 'em outright?" Hiyoko questioned, a sadistic smile spreading across her face.

"I can't know for sure, but I'm fairly sure knocking them out was the killer's intention. It's because I found that item on the floor," Hinata continued.

"The bottle on the floor, right?" Kuzuryuu sighed.

"A bottle, hmm?" Akane mused. "Hmm…"

"Right, and I'm fairly certain it's actually-"

"OH, I remember! Is that the blue seda-whatsits that was missing from the pharmacy?" Akane interrupted.

"S-Sedatives!?" Mikan gasped quietly.

"Oh, right. I forgot you were with Komaeda in the pharmacy. At least we know he wasn't the one who swiped it or contaminated the crime scene. What were you even doing there, anyway?"

"I agree!" Nekomaru rumbled suddenly. He'd been quiet for the majority of the trial, likely dazed from the effects of the despair disease. The sudden voice that echoed throughout the whole room made the nine of them jump in surprise.

"I would have hoped that you had kept up your training schedule in my absence! I can't imagine what you'd want in the pharmacy…unless you were deceiving me?!" he continued gruffly.

"No way; I'd never do something like that! I don't know who you think I am old man, but I don't need none of that crap to beat the shit out of you!" she bellowed, cracking her knuckles.

"Can someone tell me what she's talking about?" Souda asked, confused.

"I believe Nekomaru is referring to steroid use, Souda," Chiaki offered.

"Akane takes steroids?" he gasped.

"Not on your life!" she roared.

"Then what were you doing in the pharmacy, Akane?" he asked in response. It looked like the mechanic believed her, but he still wanted answers.

"W-Well that's…Gah! I was…looking for a cure for the old man, okay?" she mumbled.

"Looks like we're just side characters in the route this time, Hinata."

"Chiaki quiet."

"That's kinda stupid. Why the hell would a cure be in the pharmacy? We checked it already, and do you really think Monokuma would've put it somewhere that obvious?" the pink haired boy pushed.

"Shut up! I know it was stupid, but it's not like we understand anything Monokuma does anyway! Wouldn't it have been just like him to have our friends die and then find the cure in the most obvious place possible anyway?"

"That would be pretty despairful," Monokuma admitted.

"Besides, everyone was just doing nothing…I didn't want to kill anyone, but I couldn't just stop searching, especially when they were suffering so much." Akane clenched her fist in frustration.

"I-I'm sorry." Souda apologised. "I wished this hadn't happened either. I wish Miss Sonia hadn't… I wished it didn't take death to put a stop to another motive." He concluded quietly.

A moment of unseen understanding passed between the two, and Hinata felt his heart warm as the two bonded, just a little. Souda had slowly matured through the challenges, and apparently so had Akane. He felt determination, and perhaps even the smallest bit of hope, fill his chest.

"Anyway, you two can get wishy washy after the trial," interrupted Kuzuryuu. "Mikan, can you confirm this is a sedative?" he passed the bottle to the nurse, and she examined the label and contents.

"I-It seems c-correct," she confirmed. "This is definitely a sedative. I-It's not the one I use, though. This type is extremely fast acting, but tends to leave the patient disorientated and with a terrible headache once they wake, so I avoid using it."

"But is the plastic gun really strong enough to shoot that bullet hard enough to make the plunger depress?" Souda asked suddenly. Everyone turned towards him and he paled a little.

"W-When I was younger sometimes kids would shoot me with them, just for fun, ya know? It never hurt, and they were never very strong. I have a hard time thinking that it'd actually shoot hard enough to even scratch the skin, is all." He finished hurriedly. Everyone stopped to consider this new piece of information, and realising the plausibility of his words.

".."

".."

"I suppose I better give a helping hand!" Komaeda smirked. He seemed to take a moment to stretch, likely revelling in holding the power, if for a moment.

"Seriously, though, it really is an oversight, you should all be more careful," he laughed. Straightening, he explained his trip to the market to gather some food and subsequent visit to the toy section for Hinata's entertainment.

Hinata felt his ears burn as he heard the lucky student shopping for toys, to keep none other than himself in line. He almost wanted to sink into the floor, and resisted the urge to cover his face with his hands. A trial. He was in a murder trial. No one would care about him needing toys.

"Ha! Hinata-nii needs little baby toys!" Hiyoko giggled nastily.

Almost no one.

"And so, I tested the gun by standing up a board game, and the force knock right back a couple of feet. It was fairly impressive."

"Then, not only would it have enough force, that dart would hit you hard enough to hurt like a bitch. Adding a syringe to that.." Kuzuryuu trailed off.

Everyone shuddered.

"That's just…cruel!' Souda commented, looking sick.

"And killing someone isn't?!" Hiyoko shot back.

"R-Right…"

"So, we know the dart and air gun was supposed to be rigged up to the door, so that it would shoot whoever walked through the door. In that case, why wasn't it rigged up?" Hinata wondered.

"Maybe the killer already used it and took it off when they left?" Akane suggested, raising a hand in a half-shrug.

"But then why was the dart in the box in the projector room? It wasn't even locked!" Hinata argued.

"I-I agree!" Mikan trembled. "This bottle," she said, holding up the blue labelled bottle of sedatives to the other students, "Isn't even o-open. So, t-there's no way it's even been used yet!"

"Not opened?!" Mioda echoed in disbelief.

"Indeed, that is strange. How do you know this, Mikan?" Nekomaru asked.

"A-Ah, well, a sedative is still a medicine, and medicines go off, no matter how c-cool the room is. It's just how it is. I have to crack the seal whenever I open the new one, it's also how I know it h-hasn't been t-tampered with." She answered in a shaky voice.

"I see…" murmured Komaeda. "That certainly makes more sense!" he smiles.

"H-huh? It does?"

"Oi, bastard, what are you hiding?!" Kuzuryuu snarls. Komaeda just continues to smile mysteriously.

The gun, modified dart and sedatives were to be combined to drug anyone coming through the door, but the set up was never used.

"U-Um, i-if I could m-make a suggestion?!" Mikan all but screeches nervously.

"What is it, Mikan?" Chiaki asks softly.

"W-Well, when I w-was examining the b-body for t-time of d-death, I noticed some u-unusual injuries on S-Sonia's w-wrists."

"The Monokuma file mentioned something like that," hummed Chiaki.

"I took a look," Hinata admitted. "The bruising was thickest on the top of her wrists, and thinner on the underside."

"So, what? You think someone tied her up?" Akane asked.

"N-No one would dare do that to someone like M-Miss Sonia! She's a p-princess you know!" Souda yelled.

" *Was* a princess," Hiyoko mumbled. Souda looked like he was going to be sick, and even the other students looked vaguely ill.

"Well, good news, I don't think it was from someone tying her up," Hinata attempted to shrug off the awkward atmosphere. "If that was the case, the marks would be the same on both sides. But instead, they were different sizes. Mikan?"

"Yes?! O-Oh. R-right. Plus, ropes would make a d-different mark on the skin. My best g-guess is someone grabbed her wrists rather tightly."

"Grabbed her wrists? You can bruise someone like that? Mioda learns new things every day!"

"Y-Yes, though unless you use an object or are very very strong, the bruise is unlikely to be very severe. S-Since the bruising is still just a r-red mark, or at least three of them are, I'd say it occurred not long before death."

"So, our killer literally left their handprints on Sonia? Bastard." Kuzuryuu grumbled.

"Why only three bruises?" Chiaki asked. "There should be four, two on each wrist. What happened on one wrist?"

"Ah, well, I couldn't see one of the bruises because of the blood."

"Blood?!" Mioda threw her hands up in the hand in an attempt to one-up her previous dramatic gasps.

"R-Right. There was blood splatter on her right wrist, so I wasn't able to i-inspect the injuries there." Mikan stammered in response.

"So?! Why didn't ya just wipe it off, you ignorant slut?!" Hiyoko snarled.

"F-Forgive me!" she whimpered, before clasping her hands and closing her eyes. "I d-didn't have time b-before the monokuma announcement, a-and I didn't want to disturb the evidence…"

"Evidence? What evidence?" giggled the evil child.

"The blood you dolt! The blood! How is a suspicious bloodstain not evidence?!" Souda accused.

"I agree. The presence of blood is most suspicious." Nekomaru consented.

"Huh? Why? It's a murder right? Mioda doesn't think blood on a murder scene would be weird at all!"

"It wouldn't, except the monokuma file states that she didn't have any external wounds besides the bruises," Hinata explained.

"Which means, it's not Sonia's blood." Chiaki stated. The Ultimates took a moment to digest this. It wasn't Sonia's blood. Then whose was it? The killer's? Gundham's? How did it get there?

"So?" Akane broke the silence. "Whose blood was it?"

"Perhaps she was able to take the knife from the killer, and use it to defend herself?" Nekomaru offered.

"Does it look like anyone here has a fucking stab wound to you?" Kuzuryuu snorted.

"Kuzuryuu's right." Chiaki said. "I don't think even Nekomaru could go the whole trial without collapsing if he'd been stabbed. The only person here could close a cut like that anyway would be Mikan."

"And it all goes back to you, bitch." Hiyoko taunted menacingly.

"You know, for being a better person you're still a bit of a bitch, Hiyoko," Souda pointed out.

"Shut up! So? How do we know Mikan didn't just stitch up her own wound?" she snarled.

"There was a lot of blood on Sonia's wrist, Hiyoko. I'd say it would've been a pretty deep cut. Plus, what you're saying is that Mikan attacked Sonia, got cut or stabbed, killer her and then took out Gundham. And, well Gundham's not exactly small." Hinata countered.

"Then why not attack Gundham first and then take out the snotty princess?" Hiyoko pushed. "Is there any reason that couldn't have happened?"

"There is. It's the reason Gundham was still alive when we made it to the crime scene." Chiaki joined in.

"A-Actually, yeah, why was Gundham still alive anyway?" Souda asked.

"Because of the knife." Chiaki said. Everyone waited for her to continue, but she didn't as if the statement was self-explanatory.

"No offense, Chiaki, but don't knives do, like, the opposite?" he laughed nervously.

"Oh. Right. Well, being stabbed killer you one of three ways. Firstly, it hits a major organ and you die when it doesn't keep working, two, you bleed to death, or three, you go into shock. Gundham is pretty tough, he's worked with some pretty scary animals, I guess, so he maybe wouldn't go into shock all that easily. If the knife had hit a major organ, he would definitely be dead. So, the reason he didn't bleed to death if because the knife was never removed."

Hinata caught on, and jumped in, finishing the train of thought. "If he was stabbed once, and the knife wasn't moved, the stab wound would still be knife sized. Gundham wears lots of clothes too, so they probably worked as a makeshift compress. So Gundham never bled out because the knife was in the way."

"Saved by the knife that stabbed him…" Souda wondered in awe.

It was Gundham's blood on Sonia's wrists, suggesting he was stabbed first

"So, if Gundham was stabbed with the knife, but only after the blood splatter appeared on Sonia's wrist, how was the killer able to do it without a major struggle? There weren't any extra wounds, and his clothes weren't even messed up all that much." Kuzuryuu muttered angrily.

"Maybe they surprised him? Though the guy's kinda hard to sneak up on…" The mechanic said.

"Uh huh! Mioda tried to jump out and surprise Gundham, but he was always, like super ready. It's like he had ESP or something!"

"I'm not surprised, if he worked with nervous animals. You have to be on your guard." The yakuza agreed.

Just then, Hinata had a thought. The moment it entered his head, it sunk like a stone until it lay heavy and nauseating in his stomach. If he was right, the implications…

"Oh? It looks like Hinata finally caught on to something? Are you willing to share with the class?" Komaeda broke the squabbling, and everyone turned to Hinata, who stood looking sick and pale.

"I guess, it's a pretty obvious conclusion, and it could definitely be wrong, but… We know that Sonia couldn't have stabbed the killer, because it would have been obvious. It's not her blood, either, and Gundham apparently went down without a fight. So, what if…What if Sonia had been the one who stabbed Gundham?"

Shocked faces lined the courtroom.

"Aha, Mioda doesn't think…" the musician said, tapping her fingers nervously. "Sonia wouldn't-"

"I agree." Komaeda interrupted. "I think that's exactly what happened. And now you all have to find out why."

-Trial Intermission-

 _Hey everyone, hope the culprit's not too obvious, haha. See you tomorrow with yet another chapter; 2 more to go! Oh, and a little epilogue too, so 3._


	5. Chapter 5

"T-That's i-i-impossible!" Souda yelled. "M-Miss S-S-Sonia is a beautiful g-gentle princess! Why would she stab that shitty furry?"

"Hey that's my line, monkey boy!"

"I don't know," Hinata admitted. "But if we talk it through," he added pensively, "I'm sure we can figure it out."

"Maybe it was an accident?" Akane muttered.

"How do you STAB someone on accident?" snarked Hiyoko.

"Maybe Gundham a-attacked her f-first?" Mikan suggested nervously, pulling at her hair.

"Maybe he was behind the whole thing!" Hiyoko snarled.

"No, that's wrong!" Hinata declared, thumping his podium.

"I-I'm sorry!" Mikan squealed. Hiyoko steamed silently.

"S-Sorry Mikan, I overreacted. A-Anyway, I don't think Gundham attacked Sonia first, or was even behind 'the whole thing' as you put it. Actually, I'm starting to think Sonia might have more to do with this crime than we first thought."

"Huh? Why do ya think that?" Akane asked, cleaning out her ear.

"Two pieces of evidence, actually," Hinata began, arms crossed. "First off, the popcorn. The popcorn was spilled around and under Gundham's body."

"Indeed. In fact, I am sure that there was popcorn in his clothes also!" Nekomaru added.

"Right. There's no popcorn near Sonia's body at all, which makes me think that it was Gundham who was carrying it, and it spilled when he was surprised."

"But how do you know it wasn't just a coincidence?" A smooth voice cut in cleanly. Hinata turned to face Komaeda, who stood almost smugly as he spoke.

"People leave popcorn on the floor in cinemas all the time. How do you know that he didn't just happen to land on some popcorn, or that it got stuck to his clothes because of the blood?"

"It wasn't stuck, it was in the folds of his clothes!" Hinata argued back.

"My main point still stands. It could be a coincidence. Do you have any proof that the popcorn wasn't there beforehand?"

"I do, actually!" Hinata's retort cut through Komaeda's words barely moments after they left his lips and the lucky student simply smiled expectantly.

"Monokuma," Hinata said, turning. "You said you have a strict policy on keeping the cinema clean, correct?"

"Upupupu, that's right! I clean after every single screening, so that not a speck is left! I can't believe you're using my honesty to help you in the trial again. How disgraceful!"

"I see, so I was wrong. Oh well!" Komaeda laughed.

How does he even do that, Hinata thought, aghast.

Gundham was likely surprised when he was attacked

"So what was the second piece of evidence, Hinata?" Chiaki asked sleepily.

"Oh, right! Well, in the projector room, Mioda and I found more than just the dart. We also found a dress and a pack of blood."

"Darts, sedatives and now blood?! What is even going on anymore…" Souda groaned.

"The dress is actually a style really similar to Sonia's, or so I think. I didn't really have time to compare them closely." Hinata continued.

"So someone was planning on changing Sonia's dress?" Kuzuryuu asked.

"I think Sonia was planning on changing Sonia's dress." Chiaki cut in. "We've already established that the gun setup was never used, so I assume the dress had a purpose that was never needed."

"Son of a… I get we covered that Sonia most likely stabbed Gundham, but you're saying she might be responsible for everything? As in, she planned a whole murder as well as the cover up she never got to use?" Kuzuryuu was aghast.

"That's…That's what fits." Hinata admitted.

"No way!" Souda cut in. "I get that maybe, just maybe, Sonia might have stabbed Gundham. But there could be good reasons for that. But you're saying she planned a whole murder, and would have tried to get away with it?! S-She would never do that!"

"I'm sorry Souda, but it fits. The dress was with the dart, we already figured out she stabbed Gundham, and the bottle of sedatives I found were literally under the seat in front of where she fell!"

"If she stabbed him, why'd she need the rest of the stuff? He was already supposed to be dead!"

"Maybe Gundham was earlier than expected, and she had to make do!" he argued back. Souda growled in the back of throat, frustrated.

"Well, if it was all fine and dandy, and she stabbed the bastard, who pushed Miss Sonia?!"

Hinata opened his mouth to reply when the truth of that statement hit him. Who had pushed Sonia? He'd almost forgotten they were looking for a killer.

"Gundham, duh!" Hiyoko yelled. Everyone turned to face to dancer, as she smirked. "Someone stabs you, you're not exactly happy about it. All it would take is a little shove, and bam! Dead princess on the carpet." She cackled.

"That's wrong!" Hinata said firmly. "Or at least I think so. Hiyoko, we already covered that the knife was the only thing keeping Gundham alive. Moving around too much would almost certainly dislodge the knife. And well, it wasn't exactly a paper cut…"

"Fuck right it wasn't." Kuzuryuu snorted. "I've seen some nasty ass shit in my time in the Yakuza family, and don't let the movies fool you; a wound like that, you aren't doing anything except drop to the ground. Unless Gundham was secretly some sort of trained assassin, there's no way he'd have been able to fight back enough to throw her down those seats."

"Eh?! B-But that means there was a third person involved!" Hiyoko cried.

Gundham did not push Sonia

"So, we have to believe for now that the person who tried to kill Gundham and the person who killed Sonia are two different people." Chiaki stated firmly.

"Definitely looks like it." Kuzuryuu muttered.

"It would make sense, overall, I think." Chiaki said, a finger touched to her lips.

"Whaddya mean?" Souda asked in surprise.

"Well, what if Gundham wasn't the person the trap was set for? What if Sonia planned to stab him all this time, and the trap was for a third party?" Chiaki questioned, head tilted.

"You think someone else walked in on the scene?" Akane asked, arms crossed.

"Whoever they were, Sonia probably wasn't prepared for them, judging by the state of the trap," Hinata muttered.

"The question is, who was it she that was waiting for?" Nekomaru rumbled.

"Well obviously if we knew that, we would be w-wrapping this up already!" Souda spluttered.

Hinata closed his eyes, brows scrunched in thought, as Kuzuryuu observed him from the corner of his eye. The rest of the courtroom continued to bicker, baseless accusations thrown about, with Nekomaru yet again being the focus. Suddenly, Hinata's eyes flew open and he turned, staring right at the stuttering nurse to his right.

"What was that Mikan?" he demanded.

"Huh?!" she squealed.

"What did you just say?" he asked more calmly.

"U-Um, I just asked why they needed a third p-person in the first place. I, um, just think that killing two p-people is a lot of w-work, and um, filling the syringe with a cleaner like b-bleach, or even just leaving it empty would have disabled or even k-killed the uh, t-target just as easily."

"That is true," Nekomaru pondered. "Why use a sedative at all if you plan to kill them anyway? Why even kill again?"

"Then, maybe they didn't plan to kill them?" Mioda nodded, eyes closed and her hand stroking her chin.

Think, think…Hinata mumbled aloud, his mind trying to piece together the answer from the existing evidence. Did the killer plan on killing the third party? Why would they sedate the third party? What use would that serve?

"I've got it!" Hinata yelled suddenly. The courtroom fell silent as the other students stared expectantly. Initially shocked, they settled quickly, used to Hinata's often sudden statements and flashes of inspiration.

"Finally," muttered Kuzuryuu, turning away.

"What'cha got?" Akan asked, acting disinterested.

"Why the killer needed a third person, and why they planned to sedate them. They needed someone to take the blame!" He explained, the words tumbling out of mouth.

"I don't follow, man," Souda admitted.

"Sonia sets up the trap after killing Gundham-" Hinata starts.

"I still don't think Miss Sonia could-"

"Shut up before I make you, shithead."

"O-Okay."

"-And waits for the third party. They get tranquilised by the dart, so Sonia doesn't have attack them, which is useful if she happens to get injured if a struggle had occurred. They drag the second victim into the room, use the knife to give them a couple of cuts, make it look like Gundham fought back, then use the blood pack in the chest to make a realistic blood splatter, change into the spare dress, grab the evidence, dump it back in her cottage or motel and then raise the alarm." Finished Hinata.

"All that evidence for such a simple set up?" Kuzuryuu asked, surprised.

"It doesn't feel simple if you don't have a base to piece the evidence around," Hinata said awkwardly.

"What I'm trying to say, would we really fall for something so simple and obvious?" Kuzuryuu said sceptically.

"We were willing to believe that Hiyoko killed her best friend." Hinata pointed out.

"I agree with Kuzuryuu on this one." Chiaki admitted. "There's some things that don't feel right. How did Sonia know that someone was going to turn up in the first place? She could have been waiting in the cinema for hours, and more than one could have turned up, ruining everything. It seems too random."

"Gah! W-Well, maybe she um, lured someone? Asked them to meet her there beforehand?" Hinata tried desperately.

"And all that victim would have to do is point the finger at Sonia, and we'd start giving her a hard look. In this case, I think you're underestimating yourself, Hinata." Kuzuryuu reminded him.

"Maybe they had a plan to makes sure the victim wouldn't blab?" Akane suggested. "Or, like, they agreed to it beforehand?"

"Who the fuck would be dumb enough to agree to take the blame for a fucking murder?!" snarled Kuzuryuu.

Silence, with the exception of some awkward scuffling filled the room as each student quietly turned to stare at one Komaeda Komaeda.

"Oh dear." Komaeda chuckled. "I believe I'm under suspicion now, aren't I?"

"Komaeda;" Hinata sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did you agree to help Sonia get away with murder?"

"Well that would be telling, now, wouldn't it?"

"He did," Chiaki sighed.

"Bastard!" snarled Kuzuryuu.

"Alright," said Komaeda, his smile morphing from innocent to something more malicious. "I admit I did receive a letter asking for my help in a murder. They asked to meet them at the theatre at midday, but they never signed their name. I, of course, decided to go early and wait for the them to turn up, asking Nekomaru to take a little walk outside. I entered the theatre, stumbled across the murder in action, and when attacked, panicked. Without a knife, it was quite easy to push her down the seats. I didn't even need to erase any evidence, since none of it connected to me. I wasn't even the one who put it there, so I didn't have to worry about being punished for littering!" He opened his eyes wide, spirals of hope and despair swirling madly. "I killed Sonia Nevermind, and it was all for the sake of hope!"

"Tch." Hinata was stuck. Komaeda was always doing this; taking the blame for the murder, helping the blackened. But for every lie he told, the truth could be found. And if one of these days, his lies became truth and he truly was the blackened, dismissing him could have grave consequences. This case, more than others, he saw a major hole in Komaeda's story. Was it an attempt at misdirection or a clue that could crack the case?

"Y-Ya know, normally I'm all for blaming the resident nutjob, but um, that's a bit of a shaky story, man." Souda played with his braid nervously, avoiding making eye contact with the lucky student.

"Hmmm, I-Mioda kinda agrees. It's like a bad case of déjà vu."

"I think he definitely could have done it!" Hiyoko declared. "He's a complete psycho!"

"I-I get b-bad vibes too." Mikan admitted, stuttering.

"You've gotten worse at lying, Komaeda." Kuzuryuu raised an eyebrow.

"I'm so lost." Sighed Akane.

"Your previous actions make me doubt the truth behind your words," agreed Nekomaru, shaking his head.

"Really now!" Komaeda laughed, shaking his head. "Didn't you all just accuse me of murder in the first place? How horrible it is to be trusted so poorly that simply confessing to a crime sheds doubt on whether you actually committed it!"

Finally, Hinata spoke. "Souda is right!" he said firmly. "Your story is shaky and flawed, Komaeda."

"Ya know, if you keep defending this nutjob every trial, people are gonna start thinking you have a crush, Big bro Hinata!" Hiyoko teased.

Flinching, Hinata spluttered. "I do not!" he blustered. Mioda snickered in the background, while Hiyoko continued to smirk.

"Of course not, big bro! I was only teasing. No need to get all worked up!" she snickered, covering her mouth.

Chuckling filled the courtroom, and everyone turned to find Komaeda at the source. Smiling his usual smile, he held his hands out in defeat.

"Perhaps there is a hole here and there. But really, is it as flawed as you think, or are you making assumptions that have lead you to the wrong conclusion?" he smirked.

"Wrong…assumptions?" Hinata whispered, confused.

"Ah, normally I wouldn't give you such big clues so late in the game, Hinata. But it seems the killer doesn't quite know what they want."

"What do you mean by that, bastard?!" Kuzuryuu snarled.

"I am, and always will be, on the side of hope, Kuzuryuu. I wish, more than anything, to see the birth of the strongest hope, birthed from the clash between two hopes! But if the hope of both parties is to for the truth of this murder to come to light, indeed, if they don't wish to win this game…"

"…You would help us." Chiaki finished.

"Exactly!" Komaeda beamed.

"'They don't know what they want'; that means you know who they are! You know who the blackened is, and you're just sitting there, spewing your filthy-ass lies!" spat Kuzuryuu. He trembled in anger, looking ready to through himself over his podium and at the softly smiling lucky student.

"Of course!" laughed Komaeda. "I had forewarning that a murder might occur, after all! I've had much more time than any of you to figure it out."

"So you admit you aren't the killer?" Akane asked.

"I might be. Or this might be yet another misdirection!"

"Oi, when are you just gonna be straight with us!" she snarled in response.

"When the blackened decides what it is they hope for, of course!" he said, a note of finality in his voice. "For now, how about you go through all the so called 'holes' in my confession. Who knows, it might help!" he tilted his head to the side, laughing.

"Yeah! We'll tear those holes apart! What holes are those again?" Mioda giggled nervously.

"Why Sonia would attack him if he was supposedly an ally, first of all. It's dubious. But honestly, that's just a minor problem. The biggest problem with his story-" Kuzuryuu started.

"Is that Komaeda has one of the strongest alibis here." Nekomaru, of all people, finished.

"Right. Akane can account for his whereabouts since about 1115am. So unless the fucker doped up Akane, made it to the third island, slipped past me, killed Sonia and made it back before she woke up and noticed, he definitely couldn't do it. We didn't find any evidence of a mechanical set up did we?" Kuzuryuu turned to Hinata.

"Ah-n-no." He stuttered, surprised.

"And the bruises suggest it was definitely a person who wrestled with and pushed her. The popcorn tells us Gundham was surprised, and the wound he received means he didn't have a chance to push her. So we know it was definitely someone other than Gundham. But everyone other than Nekomaru and Mikan have alibis from 1145am, and we have no way to prove either of them were at the crime scene. Or weren't at the crime scene."

"I can't really see the old man killing anyone in that state; he wasn't motivated to do anything, let alone interfere in a murder." Akane stated, bored.

"Even if you turn out to be right, you're biased!" Souda accused.

"So what if I am?!" she shot back.

"I think you aren't taking the clue Komaeda gave us seriously enough." Chiaki spoke up.

"You aren't seriously believing what he said?!" Kuzuryuu gaped.

"He said one our assumptions was wrong. I don't need to take his word for something we can check ourselves. I think we should go over our assumptions." She murmured.

"Like what? This whole thing is givin me a headache." Akane moaned.

"Well, for a start, why do we assume that Sonia was killed at that location? She could have been killed elsewhere and moved?" Chiaki suggested.

"I think I've heard about something like this," Kuzuryuu muttered. Tilting his head back, he closed his eyes. "What was it again? The three assumptions or whatever? Location, time and…weapon! That's right!" He opened his eyes. "I don't know where I heard this but I remember learning about it. Some fictitious detective or whatever probably said it."

"Get to the point!" Hiyoko groaned.

"Shut the fuck up! Anyway, 'If a crime is impossible because the weapon, location and time make it so, and all other avenues are exhausted, one of these basic assumptions must be incorrect.'"

"So, like Chiaki said, location is one of those. And like, that also includes the weapon, since the seats are only at the cinema." Akane caught on.

"Right. It is possible that she was killed elsewhere, but I don't think that's the case." Hinata concluded.

"Huh? Why?" Akane asked angrily.

"W-Well, like I said, it is possible that she was killed elsewhere, but the only people who could carry her that quickly without dragging her would you be and Nekomaru. But why would she leave the crime scene where Gundham was? We already established she was almost certainly the one who stabbed him in the first place. Leaving him there with all the evidence would be risky at best!" He grit his teeth, staring down the athlete, feeling his will slowly melt away. Please stop glaring…

"Fine," she huffed. "That makes sense, I guess."

"So if it's not location…" Chiaki hummed.

"Ooo, ooo, Mioda knows! That leaves weapon and time, right?" She squealed, jumping up and down.

"U-Um, her n-neck was clearly snapped i-in one g-go, which I consistent with a f-fall down the stairs. T-That is to s-say, even if someone used t-their h-hands or a n-noose or something, the b-bruising would s-still show on her face or neck. I-It'd be red m-marks, like the bruising on her w-wrists, s-since it takes a-at least twenty minutes for p-proper bruising to show. But i-in this case, it j-just looks like she has a bump on her head from where it h-hit the ground and the momentum carried her too far and s-snapped it clean. It would have been almost entirely p-painless at l-least." Mikan asserted.

"So either Mikan's time of death is wrong, or Mikan's cause of death was wrong. Tsk." The yaluza crossed his arms, frowning in annoyance.

"U-Um, s-say Mikan, how does your, um, time of death work exactly? How do you, um calculate it?" Souda asked cautiously.

"Oh! It works with body temperature. You see, for every hour, the body temperature of a corpse reduces by 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit." She explained gleefully.

"What kind of assumptions do you make when you do that?" Hinata asked, catching on. The other students quickly noticed the sharp glint in his eyes, and took notice, turning to the nurse. She began to cower under the attention, fidgeting.

"U-Um, that the e-environment the b-body is found in is s-stable, and above f-freezing, and um, that the body's core temperature started at 38.5 degrees Celsius, or 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit…" she whimpered.

"That's it!" Hinata yelled joyfully.

"Someone cranked the A/C?" asked Souda in confusion.

"Another thing that's been bothering me since we discovered Sonia's plot is her motive. I assumed all this time that it to get off the island!" He turned to the rest of the students, waving his arms. "Nekomaru was suspicious because of his lack of alibi, and Chiaki and I were give one by Mikan, so we completely forgot to take Monokuma's motive into account!"

"Motive?" Nekomaru asked.

"Just like the last two trials, the murder was committed because of Monokuma's motive. In other words, the Despair Disease!"

"You think Miss Sonia was sick?!" gasped Souda.

"How unfortunate," chuckled Komaeda. "I suppose that gap in the door that day was enough of an opening after all. What terrible luck."

"Gap in the door? What gap?" Hiyoko nagged.

"Sonia came around on the second day, to deliver a protein shake from Akane to Nekomaru. I met her at the door and had to open it to grab the bottle. It wasn't large, but she had been at the hospital in the days before her murder, if that helps." He explained calmly.

"What, you're helping now?" snorted Kuzuryuu, fiddling with his eyepatch.

"It would seem the blackened has finally made their choice. They're braver than I expected, honestly. But it seems they can't convince themselves to actively try to win this trial; best guess is that they don't want to die, but they don't want to sacrifice everyone in order to live. It's almost disappointing." He sighed.

Hinata just sighed. "Ignoring that," he continued. "The symptoms of the Despair disease include unusual behaviour, fever and clamminess. A fever would affect the time of death estimate pretty badly, wouldn't it, Mikan?"

"Ah, yes! Fevers are actually quite serious since outside temperatures d-don't, u-um, affect core temperatures. Unless y-you're outside in f-freezing temperatures or you're in h-high temperatures too l-long. And um, when that happens you g-get hypothermia and h-heatstroke. The a-average temperature for the infected with the D-Despair Disease was about 39.5 degrees C-Celsius, which is a-about 103.1 degrees Fahrenheit."

"So, if Sonia did have the Despair Disease, it would explain both her motive and give us more suspects!" Hinata declared.

"Eh?! I mean, I'm kinda glad the old man is off the hook, but doesn't this make the whole thing harder?" Akane yawned. "This trial is taking forever."

"Patience is a virtue, Akane! We could have more suspects, but in that doesn't necessarily mean the case becomes harder. All it does it bring a new perception!" Nekomaru roared encouragingly.

"Mikan, assuming Sonia was sick, what does that bring time of death to?" Chiaki asked.

"U-Um, well, exact time of death would also be impacted by the a-air conditioning in the r-room, s-so, with this new information, I place t-time of death between 1110 and 1130, assuming a f-fever between 39 and 39.5 degrees Celsius."

Sonia died between 1110 and 1130am

"That's a whole different time range!" Hiyoko muttered angrily.

"Have the alibis changed much?" Chiaki asked.

"Mine and yours remain the same, and Nekomaru still doesn't have one since he was missing. Mikan is also still suspicious." Hinata began.

Nekomaru and Mikan do not have alibis

"As much as I hate to say it, the bastard and I both have alibis; I arrived at the first island at about ten past, and we didn't get back to the third island until nearly half past. So we can alibi each other." He said, blond hair dipping as he scowled at the floor.

"I was still locked in my cottage at the time," huffed Hiyoko. "Doesn't mean I killed her."

Hiyoko does not have an alibi

"I was with Mioda until about a quarter past, but then she left to get drinks." Souda said nervously.

Souda and Mioda do not have alibis

"Mioda concurs!" she cheered.

"I was training and sorting the bottles at the pharmacy. Can't remember when I started." Akane admitted.

Akane does not have an alibi

"So the only people who have solid alibis are Kuzuryuu, Komaeda, Chiaki and I. Mioda Kuzuryuu said he ran into you around Electric Avenue. What time was that?"

"Oh? That was about… I dunno! But I returned with snacks and drinks about 1130. I could tell because there's a lot of clocks in Electric Avenue!" Mioda nodded to herself.

"Alright, makes sense. Hiyoko, are you saying that you didn't hear Sonia and Gundham leave at all? They were in the cottages right next to yours." Hinata questioned.

"No, I didn't!" she yelled. Kuzuryuu glared at her and she began to shrink. Eventually, she cleared her throat.

"Okay, maybe, just maybe, I did hear a door slam. I didn't want to say anything because I could have imagined it. It was about 1110am. I thought it was just stupid Akane or whatever!"

Sonia and Gundham left for the cinema at 1110am

"Well, it wasn't. But like, I have a question," Akane interrupted. She turned to Souda, pointing at him. "I saw you entering your cottage at like 1150; weren't you supposed to be on the third island?"

"I, yeah, um, I brought some of my old projects with me to Electric Avenue to try and fit them with some chips, and I got a bunch of oil all over my jumpsuit. After Mioda came back, I decided to pack up and get changed back at my cottage. Akane probably saw me then."

"That's like, super suspicious! You could've gotten changed and washed off any blood on your clothes!" Hiyoko accused.

"W-Well so could've you! If you ever learnt how to tie that stupid kimono, that is! You're such a brat!" Souda fired back.

Hiyoko began to sniffle, before bursting into tears. "T-That's so mean!" she wailed. "I-I'm trying my b-best. I e-even used to the mirror in the music venue to t-tie it properly! So stop treating me like a little kid!"

"Moving on," said Hinata awkwardly. "I think we all have all the alibis lined up. Before we move on though, I do have one question. Komaeda, do you happen to have the note that Sonia sent on you right now?"

"I do, actually," he replied, raising an eyebrow, before reaching into his jacket Forwning for a moment, he rifled through an alrming number of pockets before pulling out a slightly crinkled, folding piece of paper. "I assume you'll want to take a look?" he asked, his voice lilting in amusement. Hinata nodded silently. The boy passed the note along, changing hands until it reached Hinata's. Peering, he studied the note, before sighing heavily.

"What is it? Something fishy with the note?" asked Souda.

"Nothing." Hinata replied, shaking his head. "I'm just confirming a suspicion of mine."

"Which is?" asked Mikan curiously.

"That Nekomaru's disappearance was likely not organised by Sonia." He stated.

"Huh? Why'd ya figure that?" Akane demanded.

"Mostly because the time she asks Komaeda to meet and the time of Nekomaru's disappearance are too far apart. Not to mention, this far in the game, it's more detrimental than helpful to make someone disappear as a distraction. Earlier on, sure, we'd have been confused and running in circles. But Sonia is actually fairly smart; I mean, you'd have to be, having learnt as many languages as she did, and rule a country. There's no way she'd risk putting people on high alert like that; the fact that she came up with the rest of the plan supports that."

"But that doesn't mean Nekomaru still isn't a suspect." Kuzuryuu pointed out.

"No, it doesn't." Hinata agreed. "Which is why I want to start talking motives."

"Motives?" Mioda echoes.

"Right. Since we can't pinpoint anyone's movements, I want to straight up say that I don't think that Nekomaru is the killer." Hinata said firmly.

"Ehh?! You're gonna let the gorilla off the hook? Why?" whined the dancer, sulking.

"From what I've gathered, the crime seems to play best with the killer interrupting Sonia's attempting killing of Gundham."

"Y-Yeah. Right, we covered this." Souda said.

"So, that means they reacted by trying to stop the murder. From what I've been told, Nekomaru was also sick with the Despair Disease. He didn't seem to be able to bring himself to care about anything. Would he really throw himself in there just because he saw Gundham being stabbed? Wouldn't someone in that state assume Gundham was dead, and walk away? I can't see him interested in vengeance." Hinata reasoned, gesturing to the hulking coach how stood silent.

"A-All the people with the Despair Disease underwent a radical personality change, but form what I o-observed, they r-remained consistent throughout the entire period." Agreed Mikan timidly.

"It's a little shaky, but I can get behind it." Kuzuryuu agreed begrudgingly.

"That leaves Mikan, Hiyoko, Souda, Mioda and me, I guess." Akane sighed.

"I have a question," Chiaki announced suddenly. Tapping her chin, she cocked her head; "Why did the killer walk in on the murder in the first place? At first, we though the to-be second victim walked in early, but now we know that Komaeda was too busy being distracted by the search for Nekomaru to have done it. Was it just bad luck?" she wondered.

"Now that I think about it, who goes to the cinema on their own?" scoffed Kuzuryuu.

"I-I'M SORRY!" cried Mikan, hands clutched to her head.

"There's not a lot of people left, ya know." Akane muttered. Mikan cried harder.

"You made a girl cry, Kuzuryuu, not cool." Komaeda smirked.

"What about Akane?! Ah, damn it." He muttered. As he tried placate the hysterical nurse, Hinata closed his eyes in thought. He was close, so close. It was about time, he knew; time to start wrapping up the case.

Someone who had an opportunity; someone who might intervene if they saw a murder; someone who had reason to go to the theatre. He opened his eyes, and let them trail across the forms of his arguing classmates, and as his eyes rested upon a familiar sight, the final pieces click in place.

"It's you, isn't it?" His voice was quiet, but it still echoed in the high ceilings of the courtroom. Like every time he had to call someone out, his mouth was dry. This time, however, it was almost like sandpaper. This wasn't like Teruteru's murder, where the murder was a selfish one, thinly veiled by selfless intentions; it wasn't even like Peko's self-sacrifical murder. This was a killing done entirely on accident, and out of purely selfless intent to help another student gone horribly wrong. It was the only way to explain the evidence, the way nothing had been hidden, Komaeda's explaination of the killer's feelings. He opened his eyes, green iris's glinting dangerously. He didn't want to do this, didn't want another person to die, his FRIEND to die.

He raised his arm, his accusing finger finally resting upon the form of Souda Souda.

Shocked silence fell upon the courtroom as nine pairs of eyes fell upon the quaking mechanic.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT," crowed Hiyoko, breaking the tension.

"That is not appropriate, Hiyoko!" chided Nekomaru as half a dozen angry glares were sent her way. She shut up immediately, grumbling quietly.

"W-Why are you p-pointing at m-me, man?!" Souda stuttered. "Y-You can't be serious!"

"I'm deadly serious." Hinata began, only to be cut off by Souda.

"I m-mean, yeah r-really liked M-Miss Sonia, and I d-din't like her h-hanging with Gundham, but I'm n-not a fucking p-psycho! I w-wasn't that j-jealous!' He yelled angrily, spittle beginning to fly as he began to tremble slightly.

He was panicking, Hinata noted. He really didn't want to do this; he almost hoped his deductions were wrong, though if they were, he had nothing else to go on.

"Why?! W-Why do you think I'm the k-killer?!" Souda all but screamed.

"Souda, please calm down!" Mikan cried.

"You don't have an alibi for the time of the murder, and you already admitted you were at Electric Avenue! We know for a fact that Sonia and Gundham left at about 1110am, so they would have passed by the Avenue just after Mioda had already left. You would have almost certainly seen them walk past!" Hinata reasoned.

"So you think I got jealous and planned their murder?!" he lashed out.

"No, but I think you got jealous enough to follow them!" Hinata yelled back. "And I know you think you're a coward Souda, and sometimes you act like it, but I can't believe you would just leave someone to die without trying to help!"

"You're wrong! I-I don't, I-I…I don't want to… Leave me alone!" The mechanic all but sobbed.

"I don't want to do this either!" Hinata insisted. "But for the sake of everyone, I had to uncover the truth! Souda, you followed them and stopped Sonia from killing Gundham, but her death was an accident! You panicked, and you poured oil on your jumpsuit to disguise the blood, and to give yourself an excuse to head back to the first island!"

The classmates watched as the battle raged on, Souda becoming more and more non-sensical and Hinata more and more desparate. This had happened with the other two blackened; common sense breaking down in favour of baseless accusation and desperation denial. Eventually, Souda slammed his hands on his podium, tears running freely down his face as he shook like a leaf in the wind.

"Y-You c-can't prove I w-was t-there!" he croaked, his last and final defence.

"I can and I will!" yelled Hinata. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the final piece of evidence and held it up to the light. A little piece of cloth, circular and almost button like. The design was that of a yellow circle with a thick red border and a black X criss-crossing over the top.

"This is one of the badges that are always stuck to your jumpsuit, isn't it? I found it on the floor of the movie theatre. Sonia must've ripped it off in the struggle. It undoubtedly puts you at the scene of the crime! Souda Souda, you're the only one who could've done this!" Hinata finished with a flair.

Souda fell back with a gurgle, then fell silent as sobs continued to rack his body.

"K-Souda?" Mikan tried tentatively.

"Oi, dude, aren't you gonna say something?!" Kuzuryuu asked.

"Dude…" Akane whispered.

"Perhaps you should summarise the crime, one last time, while our friend recovers his words." Nekomaru addressed Hinata gruffly, rubbing the back of his head.

"All right." Hinata exhaled strongly.

-Closing Argument!-

"

Act I

The beginning of this crime truly starts two days ago; where a simple water bottle hand over left Sonia secretly infected with the Despair Disease. Struck with the sudden personality change, this new Sonia decided to craft and implement a murder, all of her own. Gathering the materials from the rocketpunch market, she hid them in the projector room, in a locked chest away from prying eyes. The day before the day of the plan, she wrote a note asking Komaeda for assistance in a murder and slipped it under his door. It was officially in motion. Early that morning, Sonia set out to set the stage. Pumping and securing the plastic gun to the ground, she wrapped ribbon around the trigger and firmly secured a hook above top of the entranceway. She didn't wrap the ribbon around the doorknob, however, as that part of the plan wasn't to happen until the murder had been committed. The modified dart, as well as a change of clothes a packet of blood remained hidden in the projector room. Preparations complete, she returned to her room to wait for the opportune time.

Act II

At ten past eleven, Sonia left her room and knocked on Gundham's door, which was right next door. Asking him to the movies, he agreed, unknowing that a small kitchen knife lay in wait, hidden in the ruffles of her dress. The two made their way past Electric Avenue, where they caught the curiosity of the killer! Jealous and suspicious, the killer slipped out from where they had been working and followed at a distance. The two entered, and the killer hovered outside, likely avoiding being caught. Making their way inside, they opened the doors to the screening room to spy on the two movie goers. But what they saw shocked them! Gundham being stabbed by none other than the gentle Princess Sonia! Panicked, the killer burst in, and wrestled with Sonia, their hands gripping hard enough to create bruises on her wrists and smearing the blood already present. Shoving the princess backwards, she tripped and fell, tumbling down the terraced rows of seats. Pocketed sedative rolling out of her pocket, she landed awkwardly, neck breaking instantly. Assuming Gundham and Sonia dead, the killer fled the scene. Noticing the blood on their clothing and hands, they made their way back to Electric Avenue, where they covered all the offending evidence with oil. Waiting until Mioda returned, they used it as an excuse to return back to their cottage, and change out. Hearing the body discovery announcement, they made their way back and re-joined the group.

The killer is you, Souda Souda! "

"I'm sorry…" whimpered Souda. "I-It was an accident…I didn't mean to hurt her, I didn't mean to h-hurt anyone…

When I opened that door, I d-didn't know what I was looking at. I t-thought maybe they were p-playing around or s-something, but t-then there was b-blood and I just moved. I don't know why, I probably should've j-just gotten help, but I rushed in there like a total i-idiot!" sobbed the mechanic.

"S-She wasn't the M-Miss Sonia I knew. She- she was laughing, laughing as she stabbed him, which is why I though they were playing around, but they weren't and I just ran and she tried to g-grab the knife and I h-had to stop her cause I had to stop her and I thought – I thought she was gonna kill me. She, she was nuts, she attacked me, I g-grabbed her just to hold her off, I s-swear. I pushed her back, that's all I did, really! But then…" he began laughing, hiccupping in between bouts of giggles and sobbing. "She tripped. And you know what she tripped on? Gundham. She tripped on the person she tried to kill. It's…its so horrible. It's all wrong, there has to be some m-mistake…"

"Hey, hey, you guys ready or not? Cause it's voting time!" Monokuma spoke up, laughing manically. "Upupupupu! Remember, you don't vote, you don't live! Choose wisely now!"

Each podium whirred to life as the top slid away to reveal a screen, each listing a pixelated sprite and the name of the students. One by one, each classmate chose an option on the screen, and the hall was quiet with the exception of quiet sobbing.

"Voting time is over? Did you choose correctly?! Let's find out!" the monochrome bear all but screamed.

The floor began to whirr and a huge slot machine began to rise from the floor. Monokuma jumped and grabbed the handle and it began to descend with his weight.

*Ka-clunk. Ka-clunk. Ka-clunk*. Each sprite locked into place, one by one, until three pictures of Souda Souda lay lined up. Until…

*Brrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnngg!*

"Congratulations!" Monokuma cheered. "You bastards got it right again! The person responsible for shoving the princess down the stairs was none other than her love-struck admirer, Kazuichi Souda. Upupupupupu!"

"I'm r-really s-sorry I swear. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Souda, I sorry too. I'm sorry I had to do this. But none of us blame you for what you did!" Hinata insisted, his heart in knots.

"I have to agree with Hinata. Situation went to shit, for sure, but your intentions were in the right place. Don't think we blame you." Kuzuryuu agreed, not meeting anyone's eye. He glanced up just for a moment, and a hesitant smile twitched. "I wasn't there, but running in after Gundham like that? Pretty damn cool."

"You could have handled the situation better, but I agree! You were manly, and followed your morals! I respect the decisions you maaaddeee!" Nekomaru roared.

"If Sonia went ballistic like you said, then no wonder she tripped." Akane sighed

"You…aren't the worst murderer I ever met," Hiyoko mumbled.

"You were like, totally cool! Like Gundham's knight in shining armour!" Mioda cried enthusiastically.

"Definitely hero-like." Chiaki smiled. Mikan just started crying.

"Oi, oi, what's all this mushy stuff! Cut the crap! It's time for the best part, after all, so clench your ass!" Monokuma growled.

"W-Wait!" Souda cried. "B-Before you e-e-e-execute me, what was Sonia sick with? Like what type of the Despair Disease?"

"Oh? Humm…I believe it was something along the lines of…what was it…Sadist disease? Destructive disease? Either way, Sonia was filled with an incredible urge to destroy everything and everyone she held any care towards! How incredibly despairing, upupupu!" Monokuma snickered.

"Anyone she held any care towards? Maybe she cared a little about me after all…" Souda sighed, a fake smile plastered across his face.

"Time for punishment!" Monokuma cried.

Execution Time!

The chain whipped out of one of the many doorways and attached itself to Kazuichi Souda's neck. With one, last terrified look, he was yanked away into the darkness, a single hand reaching out desperately toward his friends, his teardrops left hanging comically in middair before they fell.

Fading to darkness, bright lights suddenly burst into life, filling the environment with white. Souda looks down and finds himself wrapped in chains, arms useless at his side. He's sitting in the passenger seat of a muscle car, with monokuma in the driver's seat next to him. Monokuma throws a cigarette out the window onto the dirt floor of an arena, as the crowd of monokuma's chant the title of the Execution:

"Monster Muscle Mash!"

"Monster Muscle Mash!"

"MONSTER MUSCLE MASH!"

Monokuma revvs the engine as the spotlight shines onto an insane obstacle course, complete with jumps, swinging hammers a single loop de loop and a final ring of fire. A final cheer goes out and Monokuma puts the muscle car into gear. The car leaps over each of the jumps without much difficulty, though Souda, not strapped in and wrapped in chains, bounces against the ceiling and wall of the car with every landing.

The car was less lucky with the swinging hammers. Hammer after hammer they pass, only to get suddenly slammed from side to side, huge dents in the car doors and bumpers making the car smaller and slower. Souda leans forward and throws up off screen. Eventually they begin their trip towards the loop de loop, getting faster and faster and faster and faster and faster…

The car flies into the loop de loop as Souda looks more and more green and begins to float out of his seat with the force of the loop. They fly towards the final obstacle: the ring of fire.

The car surges forward, faster and faster, rocketing itself off of the ramp toward the burning ring of metal. It soars for a few, suspended seconds, before the front bumper clips the side and the car goes careening sideways, tumbling pathetically out of the ring of fire, and landing with a loud crash. The wreckage smokes, the mirrors gone, the door folded inwards and the body crushed in like a child stepping on a softdrink can. It sits there, silent, among the wreckage of a dozen other cars, crushed and twisted. A roar begins in the distance. Glass tinkles to the ground. The rumbling gets louder. An arm pushes it's way out of the broken glass. The roar that became a rumble became a scream. Pink eyes appear in the empty space left by the window, desperate and begging. The hand reaches, pulling, clawing at the rubble, tugging at the useless door handles, scrabbling at the dirt.

Silence falls for a single moment before the scream returns and a monochrome monster truck falls from the sky, painting the wreckage and the arena pink. The crowd cheers as the curtains close.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue:

The walk back to the restaurant was sombre. Everyone walked slowly, shoulders slumped and in silence. Mikan broke off early on to care for Gundham, her explanation punctuated by whimpers and apologies. Hinata simply nodded and continued walking, too tired to comfort the poor nurse. Eventually, the remaining students gathered, each standing awkwardly and refusing to meet eyes.

Akane moved first, moving to the fridge and pulling out a smoked leg of ham. The others followed suit, and soon the restaurant was filled with the sounds of eating and the hissing of cooking food.

"A job well done," Komaeda said suddenly, flashing a smile. "As expected of Ultimates, you unravelled that mystery with ease. A shame about Souda, though. His hope was too weak to stand up to all of your shining potential."

Hinata wanted to say something, he really did. But the words were stuck in his throat, and his mouth wouldn't work the way he wanted. His hands shook as he thought back on the events that had transpired just that afternoon. Had it really been so recent? Time passed so agonisingly in the trial, each minute stretched an eternity.

Nobody ended up saying anything. One by one, they wandered out of the restaurant like ghosts, their lips and their footsteps silent as they walked. Eventually, Hinata followed them, having choked down an apple and a glass of juice, not able to stomach much else. Making his way to his cabin, he collapsed, and saw nothing else.

Hinata's introduction to the new day was in the form of intense, golden sunlight streaming onto his face, burning his eyes even as he forced his eyelids shut. He rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head. He didn't want to get up; doing so meant going to the restaurant. The restaurant where Souda no longer whimpered and blustered and laughed the way he always did in the mornings. He knew this wasn't good for him; denial didn't make him any safer, nor the death of his friends any less real. But he wanted to wallow in it for just a little more. His slow internal sinking into despair was quickly interrupted by a knock at the door. Or, well, maybe something closer to a jackhammer.

"HINATA!" Nekomaru roared from the other side of the door. "GUNDHAM HAS AWOKEN. EVERYONE IS HEADING TO THE HOSPITAL. IF YOU ARE INSIDE, YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US!" Silence followed his words, and then the only sound left was the heavy thudding of his footsteps retreating along the wooden path.

"Gundham…" Hinata muttered to himself. He honestly didn't want to leave his cabin and face the world just yet, but… his friend needed him. Hell, he was lucky to still have him. If Sonia's plan had gone even half to plan, he'd be dealing with three dead classmates instead of two. What was he thinking, wallowing like that? He needed… he needed to stay strong. For his friends, both alive, and dead.

He pulled himself from his bed, noting to aching of his muscles and the brightness of the world outside. He had overslept. A lot. Pulling on a new uniform, he stepped outside, hearing his joints pop as he moved them properly for the first time in maybe a week. He mightn't be able to remember his time with the Despair Disease, but he certainly felt the reminder now. Giving one more stretch to the heavens, Hinata set off briskly walking to the hospital.

Nothing of note happened along the way, though that was weird in of itself; with such an eccentric group, something interesting nearly always occurred. This time though, Hinata didn't even meet a single person on his trip. Thoroughly weirded out, he finally stopped at the entrance of the hospital, and pushed the glass doors open cautiously. Seven eyes blinked back at him. Everyone, besides Mikan and Gundham, as far as he could tell, were stationed in the lobby of the hospital, their body language awkward and stoic.

"Took you long enough," grumbled Kuzuryuu.

"Hajimeme is alive!" cheered Mioda.

"W-What did you just call me-?"

"E-Everyone!" Mikan stumbled through the double doors, before regaining her balance and standing upright, trembling. "U-Um, y-you can v-visit now, but please don't be too l-loud or upset the p-patient, p-please. I don't want him to re-open his w-wounds."

What little chattering there was died down immediately, and everyone made their way to the last door at the end of the hallway.

 _Nekomaru's old room_ Hinata noted numbly. An air of tension and underlying nervousness hovered as they opened the door quietly. Inside, contrasting against the pristine white sheets lay Gundham Tanaka.

His normally impeccably styled hair was limp and messy. His eyes were closed, but opened when the other members of the class entered. "Greetings, mortals." His normally boisterous tone was reduced to a grating whisper, though his typical trademark smirk remained affixed firmly on his face.

"It's good to see you awake," Chiaki smiled.

"You really scared us there!' Akane commented, grinning broadly.

"Glad to see you're not as dead as you looked." Kuzuryuu said grimly.

"Gwahaha!" Gundham chuckled darkly. "It takes more than that to kill the great Gundham Tanaka!"

"Yeah, of course, Gundham.." Hinata smiled. It was nice seeing someone, anyone, acting like normal.

"However," coughed Gundham. "My all-seeing eye was damaged in the incident, so I am unaware of what exactly may have transpired." He added, looking away.

Akane, Fuyuhiko, Hinata and Mikan all looked nervously at each other. Komaeda watched from a distance, a smile playing on his face. Eventually, everyone's gazes came to land on Kuzuryuu, and he stepped forward with a sigh. Taking a seat on the only chair available in the room, he began recounting the events.

"And that all happened yesterday, so you haven't been out all that long, really." Kuzuryuu finished.

Gundham was silent, though his brows were pulled together in a rare show of apprehension or concentration. "I see…" he muttered. He bowed his head. "So the Dark Lady was overwhelmed by the power of Monokuma's foul magic. I am perhaps a little surprised. She had such potential. And should the sharp-toothed one not intervened?" he questioned darkly.

"Honestly-" Kuzuryuu began.

"You'd be dead."

Everyone turned to look at Komaeda, who just smiled cheerily in return.

"You'd be dead, I'd have taken the blame for the murder, and with such a well-formed plan, it's possible she might have even gotten away with it!" he laughed, waving his hands around emphatically.

"I understand. So the Sharp-toothed one, his crime, it was an accident, correct?"

"Yeah," sighed Hinata. "Honestly? Looking back on the case, he knew barely anything about Sonia's plan, but in the trial, when I think about all the things he said… Souda always liked to throw blame around. During trials he was always pointing the finger." Hinata rubbed his face tiredly. "But looking back, he didn't do that this time. He even defended people. He defended Mikan twice, and even refused to take Komaeda up on his offer to take the fall. He… he didn't want to die. And honestly, Souda's never been very brave, so I suppose it's not a surprise he never mustered up the courage to outright expose himself, or confess. But he didn't try to throw us under the bus either. He wanted us to live, just as much as he wanted to live. He…he trusted us to find the truth. And I don't think we'll ever forget that, or that the very reason he dashed into that cinema was to help out a friend."

"Then I admit I underestimated him," mused Gundham. "It is true that he was never one I was considered brave. But to allow and help the truth to come to light when it would destroy you? I would say that takes courage. It is a shame, then."

"A shame?" asked Komaeda.

"Very. For such a hero's death, he shall be ushered through the gates of heaven, sung to sleep with the songs of angels. As my soul shall descend back into the depths of hell itself when my mortal body finally perishes, I will not be able to thank him for his valiant deeds." Only the tremble of his pale hands gave away Gundham away as he continued his bravado. "We shall have a funeral!" He suddenly declared.

"A funeral? Why? We never had a funeral for the others!" Hiyoko growled, her eyes flashing.

"It shall be magnificent!" Gundham continued, unawares. "It shall be in honour of the sharp toothed one, and for the Dark Lady as well."

"Sonia, too, Gundham?" Mikan asked gently.

"Indeed. She may have fallen under the cursed beast's foul magic, but that was never her fault. Her actions were never her own; I see no need to punish her soul."

"Let's do it. Actually, we should do one for everyone." Chiaki decided.

"No fucking way. Funerals…funerals are depressing as fuck. We don't need that right now." Kuzuryuu said angrily.

"Then let's make it a party!" Mioda cried enthusiastically. Everyone groaned quietly.

"I don't know about anything as big or as loud as before, Mioda," Komaeda laughed nervously. He winced at the memory. "But perhaps a small gathering on the beach would be fun?"

"Perfect!" Gundham declared. "I shall be able to call forth the hellflames to commemorate their passing and send their spirits on their way."

"What?" asked Akane.

"He wants to build a bonfire." Hiyoko clarified, rolling her eyes. "I guess," she hesitated. "If we could include Mahiru… I might be willing help out. Maybe…dance…or something…" she mumbled.

"It's settled!" rumbled Nekomaru.

"N-Not tonight though!" fretted Mikan. "Gundham needs at least three days rest before he can go anywhere!"

"Alright!" yelled Akane. "We'll prepare the best funeral party ever!"

The next three days were filled with nothing but party preparations. Poles and lanterns were strung up, and a large bonfire lay prepared in the centre. Tables were lined in rows and chairs were ransacked from various buildings as the day approached.

The night of the party consisted of tables packed with packets of chips and badly cooked hamburgers; a sight that would have made Teruteru cry with grief. Gundham sat in a wheelchair, fussed over by Mikan as he watched the flames flicker. Hiyoko fulfilled her promise as she swept onto the makeshift stage of palm leaves and soft sand, twirling hypnotically with nothing but the crackling of the flames as her music. Akane set up a volleyball game, crushing everyone, including her own teammates until only Nekomaru was able to participate. The game ended with a shock ending of Akane winning by a single point and a hair breadth. The athlete, shocked still at first, began screeching in delight as she was tackled joyfully by Mioda and hugged roughly by the coach. Mikan and Gundham eventually left, slipping away back to the hospital. The night ended as one by one, the students fell asleep, their faces lit by the moonlight and their hair tangled with sand.

And as the night drew to a close, Hinata was left staring at the moon silently, thinking back on all the mysteries that are still be solved. His heart giving a pang at the empty spaces, he looked over his peacefully sleeping classmates. Akane and Nekomaru, side by side, Kuzuryuu alone and curled, twitching occasionally; Komaeda, alone on the sand bank, Chiaki was napping, console in hand under one of the tables, and surprisingly enough, Mioda and Hiyoko curled up, back to back. They looked…peaceful, he decided. And with that, he closed his eyes and decided that the mysteries could wait one more night to be solved.

 _A/N And that's that! For now, there's no plans for a sequel, especially as this took forever to write, but I appreciate everyone's feedback and support. I hope this was a satisfying ending!_


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